SKETCHES 



OF 



BUENOS AYRES 

ft 

AND 



CHILE. 



BY SAMUEL HAIGH. 



LONDON: 

JAMES CARPENTER AND SON, 

OLD BOND STREET. 



PREFACE. 



Generals, colonels^ naval and military captains, 
charg^s-d'afFairs, consuls, commissioners, miners, 
and mineralogists, having all, at various times, 
thought proper to present to the world some ac- 
count of their wanderings in the other hemis- 
phere," I shall also take the liberty to offer to 
an enlightened and intelligent public a few ob- 
servations respecting a country where, to use a 
nautical phrase, I have been " on and off" for the 
last eleven years ; and, during the early part of 
that period, I had an opportunity of witnessing 
political events of the most stirring character. 



Vi PREFACE. 

the results of which have tended efFectually to 
achieve the grand object of rescuing Chile and 
Peru from the dominion of the Spanish crown. 

When the reader is acquainted with an author's 
general pursuits, he sometimes understands his 
remarks the better, and I will therefore explain 
what were the views and prospects which first 
induced me to visit those " stronds afar remote." 

In the early part of the year 1817, when I 
was twenty-two years of age, I was in a very eli- 
gible situation in a foreign merchant's house in 
London, of great opulence and respectability. 
One morning, in the merry month of May," on 
entering the counting-house, which was west of 
'Change a mile, I espied a letter upon my desk 
addressed to me. It was from a rich relation, in- 
timating, that if I came to him immediately, I 
might probably hear something to my advantage. 
At these talismanic words, so welcome to every 
onc> 1 lost no time in translating my person into 



I 



PREFACE. vii 

th^ city^ to learn what good the gods had pro- 
vided for me. 

I found my worthy kinsman in his sanctum 
sanctorum, or inner office, seated at his desk, 
upon a high counting-house stool ; and, on my 
entrance, without much ado," he opened pro- 
ceedings in a very solemn and impressive manner. 
He stated, that great news had just been received 
from South America, no less than the opening of 
Chile to foreign trade, in consequence of the vic- 
tory of Chacabuco, gained by the patriots; that 
this was the time to make a push for a fortune ; 
and as he and two partners contemplated sending 
out a cargo, to get the " cream of the market," 
if I would undertake its management, I should 
have an opportunity of filling my coffers with in- 
gots of gold and silver, or, as he quaintly ex- 
pressed it in his synonymous phraseology, of 

making a man of myself J* 

The vivid manner in which this chance was com- 



Vm PREFACE. 

municated to me, operated like lightning on my 
senses ; the idea of proceeding to a region, where 
one city had silver pavements, and another had 
temples roofed with gold, infected me on the in- 
stant with his yellow fever, and I became delirious 
with joy at the golden prospect so suddenly 
opened to my view. Time being of the utmost 
importance, I was told I must prepare to leave in 
a week, and the strictest secresy was enjoined, lest 
"the world should suppose" that my kinsman and 
his colleagues were speculators. 

Matters being thus far settled, I returned to 
my principal, to acquaint him with my sudden 
intention of divorcing myself for ever from his 
journal and ledger, as I had that morning re- 
ceived "a new light", and had a " serious call " to 
take a "far distant journey." 

He remonstrated, and said, that I neither 
could nor should leave him; that the notice was 
too short ; that all was not gold that glittered ; 



PREFACE. ix 

that I might be mistaken in my views ; that he 
had a prospect for me in the Brazils^ &c. T how- 
ever tm-ned a deaf ear to all his arguments, and 
concluded by stating that I would call once more 
for the purpose of settling our accounts, but that 
my mind was resolutely fixed upon undertaking a 
secret expedition. 

It was not, however, without a qualm that I thus 
left my worthy Brazilian friend, for he had always 
treated me in the handsomest manner, and in his 
service I had been for several years, but this feel- 
ing was quickly put to flight when I contemplated 
the prodigious change in my circumstances. I 
felt as confused as Macbeth, when he was pro- 
nounced thane of Cawdor, at finding Dame For- 
tune, so unexpectedly, buckled on my back 
I therefore next walked into Hyde Park alone, 
to take a cooler view of coming events, and fell 
into that pleasing reverie called castle buildings 



X PREFx\CE. 

from which I did not awake till the sun was 
nearly set^ when I left the Park. 

Formerly I had been accustomed to dine in 
one of those dark dens called chop-houses/' situ- 
ated in some obscure alley near 'Change, amongst 
tallow and Turkey merchants, cotton and coffee 
brokers, Jews and jobbers; I now felt the effect 
of more elevated ideas, so walking into a crack 
hotel/' at the West end, I called for a choice din- 
ner, and a bottle of prime claret to drink success 
to my new enterprize. At night I retired to 
my lodgings, and went to bed, but sleep was long 
a stranger to my eyes, and it was not until about 
the grey of the morning that I fell into a slumber, 
and dreamed that I had an audience of Monte- 
zuma, and was introduced to the virgins of the 
sun ; that I had returned from the mines of Potosi, 
in a ship laden with dollars, and had purchased 
the Marquis of Stafford's estates for cash. 



PREFACE. xi 

The next day, I rode into Kent, to see my 
mother, and inform her of the brilliant change 
in my affairs, and of my immediate departure 
from England. The good old lady was quite 
astounded and averse to my going abroad, but I 
reconciled her by representing the enormous 
wealth which should '^illustrate" my return. 

On the morrow I returned to the city and bent 
my steps towards the neighbourhood of Alderman- 
bury. In the first interview with my kinsman, 
terms had not been mentioned, for of course, con- 
sidering the handsome manner in which the spe- 
culators had shewn me the ready road to riches, 
I felt that I was dealing with persons of the ut- 
most liberality : judge, therefore, my surprise, 
that morning, when my relative informed me he 
had persuaded his partners, with some difficulty, 
to allow me the enormous sum of three hundred 
pounds, per annum, as a fair remuneration for 
managing their argosy. 



Xll PREFACE. 

Reader! if it has ever been your luck to make 
but one step from the top of a high tree to the 
bottom^ you may form some idea of what poets 
mean by bathos, or the art of sinking. I once 
performed that evolution, in my youth, but the 
descent was not more rapid than that which my 
hopes experienced '^from the sublime to the ri- 
diculous," upon this occasion : my spirits, which 
for three days had been at fever heat, now sunk 
down to zero, and I saw all the golden visions 
which my delighted fancy had conjured up, vanish 
at once in a Scottish mist. 

It was now, however, too late to complain : 
the thing was done, and I had agreed to enter 
the service of this considerate and liberal firm ; 
therefore, to make a tedious story short, a vessel 
having been purchased, the cargo neatly assorted, 
the whole packed into small mule loads, accord- 
ing to order, and being safely shipped by the 
grace of God," insurance duly effected at Lloyd's^ 



PREFACE. Xiii 

ship and cargo cleared at the customs, on the 
19th day of June, 1817, having received my final 
instructions from the triumvirate, with promises 
of " the most strenuous support," 1 found myself 
seated in a postchaise on the road to Gravesend^ 
by the side of a most delightful companion, in 
the shape of " a box of samples," about the size 
^ of a banker's iron safe, and in my eyes as valua- 
able in its contents. 

At Gravesend the vessel was at anchor in the 
stream, with the blue Peter up, and her fore-top- 
sail cast loose and shivering, the captain waiting 
for me at the White Hart. After dining, I em- 
barked, and took charge of the cargo and des- 
tination of the good ship the Catalina, whereof 
John Warner was master," bound for Buenos 
Ayres and Chile. 

The next afternoon we dropped down the river, 

and, the following day, our pilot left us in the 



xiv PREFACE. 

Downs. The wind veering round more to the 
Eastward, the white cliffs of dear Dover " va- 
nished swiftly from our view, and I bade my 
native land good night." 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. . , 1 

Preliminary Observations. British Attach on 
Buenos Ayres. Memoirs oj General Mil- 
ler,'" Authors personal Narrative. Arrival 
at the Rio de la Plata. Landing at Buenos 
Ayres; general Description of that City; 
Manners, ^c. of the Inhabitants. 

CHAPTER II. . . 18 

The Gentlemen of Buenos Ayres. Fashions. Go' 
vernment. Population. Bull-Fights. The- 
atres. Horse Racing and Cock-Fighting. 
Wild Deer Hunting. Commerce. Departure 
for Chile. 



xvi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER III. . . 41 

Travelling in the Pampas. Our Cortege. The 
Village of Luxan. Disagreeables of the 
Journey, Velocity of Travelling. Wild 
Anitnals, Arrival at San Luis, 

CHAPTER IV. . . 70 

The Punta de San Luis, §'C. Population, The 
Travesia, or Desert. River Desaguadero. 
South American Fight. Arrival at Mendo^a. 
Hospitality of the Inhabitants, ^c. 



CHAPTER V. . . 88 

Departure from Mendom. Journey across the 
Cordillera in the Winter Season. Anecdotes. 
Overt alien by a Snow Stormy and forced to 
seek Shelter in a Casucha. 

CHAPTER VI. . .111 

The Storm abates. Ascent of the Cumbre, The 
Vallies of Chile. Aconcagua, Chacabuco. 
Arrival at Santiago. General San Martin. 
Grand Fite, 8^c. 



CONTENTS, 



XVU 



CHAPTER VII. , . ISO 

The City of Santiago. Great Square. The In- 
habitants. Convents. Superstition. Reli- 
gious Ceremonies. Friars, Amusements, Ta- 
camar. Political Summary. 

CHAPTER VIII. . , 165 

Journey to Valparaiso. O'Higgins. Casa Blanca. 
Pacific Ocean, Description of Valparaiso. 
Chileno Ball. Mode of Business, Mackays 
Cruisse. 

CHAPTER IX. . . 190 

Expedition from Spain, Retreat of G'Hig- 
gins. Junction of the Patriot Forces, Sur- 
prise at Cancharayada. Consternation of the 
Inhabitants of Santiago, ^c, 

CHAPTER X. . . 213 

State of the Patriot Army. Native and Foreign 
Officers, General Brayher, O'Higgins, 
Night previous to the Battle, The Battle 
of Maypo, Total Defeat of the Spanish 
Army. 



xviii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. . . 240 

Major Arcos. Captain Biddle. Execution of 
Juan, Jo%e, and Luis Carrera. Assassina- 
tion of Rodrigues. Rejoicings in Chile. Sea 
Fight. Chilean Navy. Blanco and Callow, 

CHAPTER XII. . . 263 

Capture of the Spanish Frigate, Maria Isabel, 
and Transports. Lord and Lady Cochrane. 
Theatre in Santiago. Nunnery. Peruvian In- 
dian. A Friar. Religious Rites. Departure 
from Santiago to Mendoza. Journey across 
the Pampas, and Arrival in Buenos Ayres. 
Embarkation for Rio de Janeiro, and Ar- 
rival in England. 

CHAPTER XIII. . . 302 

Voyage to Buenos Ayres and round Cape Horn 
to Valparaiso. Improvements in Chile. The 
Baths of Cauquenes. Passage in the Otven 
Glendower to England. 



i 



ERRATA. 



Page 10, line IS, for any read my 

57, 21, for Guacho read Gaucho 

136, 10, /or 55 W. long, read 71 W. long. 

■ ' 148, 8, Jbr under republic read other republic 

— — 185, 2, for Cabildo read Consulado 

— — 255, 19, for O'Connel read O'Carrol 



CHAPTER L 



Preliminary Observations, British Attack on Buenos 
Ayres. " Memoirs of General Miller ^ Author s 
personal Narrative, Arrival at the Rio de la Plata. 
Landing at Buenos Ayres; general Description of 
that City; Manners ^ 8fc. of the Inhabitants, 

The first spirit of revolution amongst the Span- 
ish Colonies in South America, bears its origin 
about the year 1804, in the Caraccas, though 
it was paralysed for a time by the total failure 
and death of the unfortunate Miranda; but it 
was not until some years after, that this feeling 
exhibited itself on the shores of the River Plate. 
Immediately after the usurpation of the crown. 
of Spain, by Napoleon, the discontent in the 
provinces of Buenos Ayres was openly mani- 
fested ; previous to that period the Spanish Colo- 
nies had enjoyed an almost uninterrupted peace, 

B 



2 



BUENOS AYRES. 



and, with the exception of their Indian contests, 
which were not to be compared in their extent 
and ferocity to those of the sister Continent, the 
miseries of war had been strangers to that vast 
region which the Spaniards possessed both by 
right of discovery and conquest. 

The sudden and hasty attack of Sir Home 
Popham and General Beresford upon Buenos 
Ayres, called this part of the world into parti- 
cular notice in England, in 1806. The gross 
misconception of its enormous wealth and ca- 
pacity for trade, made an impression on the com- 
mercial part of the community, the results of 
which are fresh in their minds to this day. The 
expedition under General Whitelock, to secure 
the conquest of this place, and which terminated 
so unfortunately in consequence of the incapacity 
of its leader, tended to tarnish the glory of the 
British arms; and our banners, captured on that 
occasion, are still to be seen hanging in the 
church of St. Domingo, presenting (to an Eng- 
lish eye,) melancholy mementos of that disastrous 
defeat. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



3 



In consequence of that disaster, the province of 
Buenos Ayres and the city of Monte Video (which 
had been gallantly taken by storm under Sir Sa- 
muel Auchmuty,) were given up by capitulation; 
and the whole of our brave officers and troops re- 
embarked, to be again wafted across the Atlantic, 
in complete disgust at their ill success, which 
they justly attributed to the imbecility of their 
commander-in-chief. 

The courage with which this signal repulse of 
the English inspired the Buenos Ayreans, con- 
vinced them that, united, they were equal to de- 
fend themselves against a large European army, 
and the liberal factions which broke out, in con- 
sequence of the then state of affairs in the Penin- 
sula, quickly obtained ascendancy enough to 
throw off all obedience to Spain. 

It is not my intention to enter into the details 
of the manner in which the revolution was brought 
about, or of the different parties engaged in the 
laudable struggle; the names which figured in 
those times, seldom transpired beyond the Atlan- 
tic, and the most remarkable have been long since 

B 2 



4 



BUENOS AYllES. 



consigned to oblivion, as the all-absorbing in- 
terest in tlie state of Europe, at that period, left 
the Colonies as it were to themselves : suffice it 
to say, that the shores of the River Plate were 
the first in South America upon which the flag 
of independence was maintained, it having never 
been lowered from the day it was first displayed. 
This symbol of liberty, however, was not pre- 
served there, without a most arduous struggle, 
and the cost of m.uch blood and treasure. A Bu- 
enos Ayrean may certainly feel proud when he 
contemplates the successive sanguinary campaigns 
which his provinces maintained alone against the 
numerous and well-disciplined troops of the King 
of Spain, which constantly issued, from Peru and 
its immediate dependencies, against the more 
desultory but warlike people of the plains, where 
action after action was lost ; and yet, before any 
permanent advantage could be gained, another 
army presented itself, like magic, before the asto- 
nished Spaniards. For the particulars of these 
campaigns, fought with various success, I refer 
the reader to the very able work, " Memoirs of 



BUENOS AY RES. 



5 



General Miller," which has so recently appeared 
before the public, and which, for historical accu- 
racy, dispassionate view of political affairs, and 
general information relative to South America in 
the present day, is certainly the best book ex- 
tant. 

The present volume is not intended either as 
an historical, statistical, or political description 
of the countries I have seen, but is merely the 
result of observations jotted down at the time, 
in my note-book, and may, strictly speaking, be 
called a personal narrative, as it contains details 
of the various impressions left upon my mind on 
first visiting the new world. I shall, therefore, 
commence my remarks from the year 1817;, in 
the autumn of which I first set foot on the shores 
of the great Rio de la Plata. Scarcely any thing 
worth mentioning occurred during the voyage, a 
period of ten heavy weeks, which was as dull and 
as monotonous as is usually experienced in a 
small ill-savoured, badly-found, merchant brig. 
The same penury which was an inherent virtue ' 
in the majority of the speculators, had extended 



e 



BUENOS AYRES. 



itself to the vessel. Two lean sheep, bought 
cheap at Gravesend, a litter of small pigs, and a 
couple of coops of fowls, constituted our live 
stock; the rest was ship's allowance — salt beef, 
hard enough to bear a polish, and biscuit none 
of the newest. To part of the former the ele- 
ments laid a claim, for we had scarcely been a 
week on our voyage, when^ lying-to in a heavy 
gale of wind, olF Scilly, a huge green sea broke 
in upon our decks, and having half " drowned 
the cocks," as well as their female acquaintance 
in the coops, absconded with the whole swinish 
multitude, whose piercing screams at this cruel 
separation were " louder than the weather.'^ 

On the fourteenth day we passed close to the 
beautiful island of Madeira, with its vineyards 
sloping to the sea; in three days more got the 
N. E. trade wind, which we ran down in fine wea- 
ther, crossed the line in 23 W. long., and got be- 
calmed in 2 S. lat. One afternoon, whilst lying in 
this state of inactivity, a sailor struck the captain, 
and a mutiny took place. We mustered forces on 
both sides and a scuffle ensued, which ended by 



BUENOS AYRES. 



7 



the ringleader getting knocked down and put 
into irons ; this effected a change in his revolu- 
tionary principles, and in three days he begged to 
go again to his duty. Nothing further occurred, 
worth narrating, until, on the first day of Sep- 
tember, we hailed St. Mary's Cape, the North 
entrance of the River Plate. 

This vast volume of waters, which disgorges at 
once the tributary streams of three immense ar- 
teries of the spacious continent of South America, 
is unrivalled in its extent, — its extreme width 
at the mouth being upwards of one hundred and 
fifty miles ; but the water is quite fresh until 
within a few miles of Monte Video, and even there 
it is often drinkable. The river is thick and dis- 
coloured by a yellow mud ; it abounds in many 
and dangerous shoals; the shores on either side 
are low, particularly to the south, and those on 
the north side, though somewhat bolder and rocky, 
are not discernible at any distance. In steering, 
we passed the islands of Lobos and Flores, and, 
between the latter and the shoal, called " the 
English Bank," came in sight of the bold mount 



8 



BUENOS AYRES. 



called Monte Video. Passing the handsome and 
well-fortified to^vn of that name, we shaped our 
course across the river, and '^'^ sighted" the lowland 
of Point Indio, and the Bay of Ensenada, and 
nothing remarkable presented itself until we per- 
ceived the towers and town of Buenos Ayres 
slowly emerging from the margin of the waters. 

Mr. Warner, our captain, being an excellent 
pilot of the River Plate, (having formerly sur- 
veyed it when master of H. M. S. Nereus, Cap- 
tain P. Heywood,) brought our bark up in good 
style ; so that, on the evening of the 2nd of Sep- 
tember, we cast anchor in the outer roads, oppo- 
site the town of Buenos Ayres, bearing S. seven 
miles distant. The outer roads is the station for 
all his Majesty's ships, as there is not water 
enough in the Belizas, or inner roadstead, for ves- 
sels of deep draught : and boating being very dan- 
gerous, during bad weather, communication is 
sometimes cut ofi from the shore for days toge- 
ther. This was our case, as it blew strong, we 
could not land until the next day. The city, as 
seen from the outer roads, presents a gloomy and 
monastic appearance, on account of its numerous 



BUENOS AYilES. 



9 



domes and steeples, and this impression was 
strengthened, at the period I am writing of, by 
the number of priests and friars who thronged 
the streets. 

H. M. S. Hyacinth, Capt. Sharp, was lying at 
anchor close to us, and in the morning Mr. Warner 
and myself went on shore in one of her boats. 

As it was low water, the boat could only ap- 
proach to within a quarter of a mile of the shore, 
and I was much struck by the curious mode of 
landing. A number of light carts, drawn by two 
horses, one with a wild looking Indian on his 
back, approached the boat, for the passengers. The 
ricketty state of these slight vehicles, which are 
composed of cane, and open at the bottom, ex- 
poses the occupant to a soaking, before he reaches 
the shore, so that he is rather damped than ani- 
mated, and, as he is dragged slowly through the 
water to the beach, he bears more resemblance to 
a criminal on the eve of making his exit from this 
world, than to a traveller about to enter a great 
capital. 

I now found myself in a strange country, wliere 



10 



BUENOS AYRES. 



scarcely a vestige of any thing European was to 
be seen. The appearance of the natives^, most 
of them on horseback, in their bright and showy 
colours, is very grotesque, and the brilliant pon- 
cho and baizes, in which the lower class of people 
are clothed, have a most picturesque effect. 

We presented ourselves to the officer on 
guard at the mole, and were allowed to pro- 
ceed into the town. As I did not know a soul 
in the place, previous to delivering my letters 
of introduction, I took up my quarters at Los 
Tres Reyes, a good inn, kept by an English- 
man. I then addressed myself to Mr. Geo. Dick- 
son, a resident merchant, and from him I received 
every information relative to the commercial and 
political state of the country, which served me as 
a guide to my future movements. I had received 
instructions to dispose of the cargo, under any 
direction, in Buenos Ayres, provided a counter 
revolution should have taken place in Chile, but 
as the latter country was considered quite secure 
in the hands of its new masters, I made immediate 
preparations for our departure for the Pacific. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



11 



The town of Buenos Ayres has been often de- 
scribed^ and must be fresh in the memory of most 
readers. There is a wild and unfinished look 
about it, which is any thing but pleasing ; except- 
ing in a few streets, in the vicinity of the Plaza or 
Great Square, the houses are low and dirty, and 
become more so as you approach the environs. 
There are, however, a number of well-built houses 
in the principal streets : they are mostly one 
story high, built of brick, and whitewashed ; with 
spacious courts, areas, and out-houses in the Spa- 
nish style, and the usual " illustration" of a large 
Gothic gateway; sometimes the arms of the first 
owners are to be seen engraved in stone above 
the gate. The roofs, called asateos, are fiat and 
paved with stone ; some of the patios, or court- 
yards, are paved with black and white marble, 
tessellated. In the better sort of houses they have 
a canvass awning spread from the roof, over the 
patios, which serves for shade against the ex- 
treme heat of the sun. The windows seldom 
have glass, but they are protected with a reja, or 
iron railing, which gives them the look of a prison. 

N 



12 



BUENOS AYRES. 



The churches are large and gloomy on the out- 
sidcj and the walls of most of them, are over- 
grown on the tops, with long grass and weeds. 

The great square of the city is large and hand- 
some, with an obelisk in the centre, protected on 
the river side by a fort, which, though of no great 
strength, has a handsome appearance, but was, 
originally, only intended to protect the town from 
the Pampa Indians *. 

* When the English invaded the town, under White- 
lock, this fort rendered eminent service by firing at 
the steeple of St. Domingo, in which church part of 
Crawford's division had taken shelter from the heavy 
fire of the natives, (who were stationed on flat tops of 
the houses,) and by bringing the ruins of the steeple 
upon their heads did great execution. This is the di- 
vision that was reported to have had orders not to fire. 
It is said that Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who had pene- 
trated as far as the Bull Ring, sent word to General 
Whitelock that he would capture the town with his di- 
vision, if permitted, but the panic which had seized the 
commander-in-chief made him deaf to this proposal. 
The marks of the cannon-balls were plainly to be seen 
on the steeple. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



13 



This fort is surrounded by a wall and fosse, it 
is the residence of the governor, and there are 
several public offices in it, relative to the army 
and marine department. The market, for all sorts 
of fruits, vegetables, and game, is held in the 
great square, which constantly presents a busy ap- 
pearance. The surrounding piazas are shops 
displaying all descriptions of manufactured goods, 
from Europe, China, and the East Indies. 

The square where the beef is sold deserves re- 
mark, it is situated at the outskirts of the town. 
The meat is dealt out of a covered cart, and its 
appearance is any thing but a provocative to the 
appetite, being cut into long steaks, and its edges 
generally fringed with black. Beef, in this city, 
is much superior to the mutton. Calves are not 
allowed to be slaughtered, lest such a practice 
should injure the hide-trade. 

A few streets, in the centre of the city, are 
paved, but in general great annoyance is felt 
from the roads presenting a slough of mud, 
in the rainy season, and a hurricane of dust in 
dry weather. The foot-paths are narrow and dis- 



14 



BUENOS AYRES. 



agreeable, and the posts are placed almost close 
to the houses, which renders walking extremely 
irksome, especially as many of the paths are 
causeways elevated from two to three feet above 
the road. 

There is, however, in the streets of Buenos 
Ayres, a greater appearance of liveliness and 
bustle than in any other South American town. 
Numerous badly-shaped carts, with creaking 
wheels of an enormous circumference, though 
not quite round, without any kind of tire, 
urged on by half caste Indians, almost as brutal 
as the animals they are driving ; Negroes and 
Mulattoes, Indian porters, laden with bales 
and cases of goods, or with serons of hard dol- 
lars, (for in those good times no bank had is- 
sued forth its paper currency, nor had any loan 
for this country been raised in London ;) la- 
dies in their caleses, (two-wheeled chariots very 
showily painted, each drawn by a mule with a 
black postilion on its back,) others walking on 
their shopping or visiting expeditions, priests and 
friars, merchants and military, all apparently in 



BUENOS AYRES. 



15 



a great bustle, conspire to render the city far 
from dull or uninteresting. I have before said 
that the churches are numerous — the principal 
ones are the cathedral, San. Domingo, San. 
Merced, San. Francisco, and the Recoleta; these 
are very large and handsome. In the time of the 
Spaniards the churches were ornamented with a 
profusion of gold and silver, but the revolutionary 
wars have drained them of their wealth, and the 
altars and images are now adorned with tinsel 
instead of substance — a conclusive evidence of 
the declining power of priestcraft, as church pro- 
perty was finally impressed into the service of the 
state, although many and dreadful anathemas 
were thundered from the pulpit, upon those who 
should be sacrilegeous and daring enough to in- 
fringe upon its sanctity. 

The churches are always open, a fact of which 
one is well apprized by the continual ding-dong 
of the bells. The masses are held between day- 
light and noon, and on festival days from eleven 
till one is the most fashionable time; the ladies 
may then be seen in groups followed by their 



BUENOS AYRES. 



black or Mulatto giris^, carrying carpet rugs of 
the most brilliant colours for them to kneel upon, 
as the churches have no pews, and are all paved 
either with brick or stone. A Spanish belle shows 
off to great advantage in the mass-dress, which 
is of black silk, perfectly adjusted to the shape of 
the body; a black or white lace veil is thrown 
gracefully over the head, and is sometimes con- 
trasted with a bright-coloured silk shawl worn 
over the shoulders; the shoes and stockings are 
of white silk, for the Spanish ladies never wear 
either black or hliie stockings, and they take great 
pride in their feet, which is not to be wondered 
at, as they generally display a very small foot 
and a neatly turned ankle. 

Most of the women are very good-looking, 
and some are perfect beauties in the exquisite 
outline of their features ; their complexions are 
usually pale and incline to olive ; the nose 
aquiline, and there is much sweetness about 
the mouth. The large dark eyes, for which 
the Spanish beauties are so deservedly cele- 
brated, occasionally shoot forth a volley of ex- 



BUENOS AYRES. 



17 



pression not often to be met with in more north- 
ern climes. Their figures are extremely good* 
and they know hov/ to set them off by great 
-attention to gracefulness of carriage. They in- 
variably dance and walk well, and with such ap- 
parent ease that not the least tinge of affectation 
is visible, — indeed there is less of that amongst 
them than many of my countrymen who have 
written upon the subject are willing to admit; 
but no one, who has observed the grace and ease 
with which a Buenos Ayrean lady carries herself, 
would for an instant hesitate to express his ad- 
miration. I must not omit to notice, also, the 
taste they display in the disposal of the glossy 
ringlets of their " raven hair," which is never dis- 
figured by either cap or bonnet; the sole orna- 
ments are a comb, and sometimes a flower, and 
the dark clustering curls are left flov/ing on the 
neck down to the shoulders. 



18 



CHAPTER II. 

The Gentlemen of Buenos Ayres. Fashions. Goveni- 
tnent. Population. Bull-Fights. Theatres, Horse 
Racing and Cock-Fighting. Wild Deer Hunting, 
Commerce. Departure for Chile. 

Having described the ladies, it is but fair to speak 
of the young men of the higher order. The gen- 
tlemen of Buenos Ayres, dress as well as those of 
the same class either in London or Paris ; and 
their manners are free from affectation or effemi- 
nacy. Every youth is a good horseman, and 
prides himself upon possessing a barb of Andelu- 
sian breed. They are brave, liberal, and disin- 
terested, but are somewhat proud and arrogant; 
the latter qualities, if not excusable, are at least 
easily accounted for, no republic in South Ame- 
rica, having contributed more to the destruc- 
tion of Spanish dominion in the new world than 
their own. They have acquired the epithet of 



BUENOS AYRES. 



19 



Pintor, or boaster, amongst their neighbours, and 
they are rather disliked by them, but they are in 
general superior in talent and information to the 
inhabitants of any of the other republics, which 
may account for this animosity. 

The general society, at Buenos Ayres, is agree- 
able : after being properly introduced into a fa- 
mily, it is considered to be quite in etiquette to 
visit at any hour you may think proper, and 
you are always well received ; the evening, or 
tertulia hour, however, is the most fashionable. 
These tertuhas are delightful in the extreme, and 
are quite without ceremony, which constitutes 
part of their charm. 

In the evening, the family assemble in the sala, 
or drawing-room, which is presently filled with 
visitors, especially should it be a house of haut 
ton. 

The amusements are conversazione, waltzing, 
the Spanish contre-dance, music, (the piano and 
guitar,) and sometimes singing. On entering, 
you salute the lady of the house, and this is the 
only ceremony ; you may retire without any for- 

c 2 



20 



EUKNOS AYRES. 



mality ; and in this manner^ should your inclina- 
tion lead^ you may visit half a dozen turtulias in 
the course of an evening. The manners and con- 
versation of the ladies are very free and agreea- 
ble, and as it is their custom to be very attentive to 
strangers, an erroneous impression has frequently- 
been formed relative to their freedom. Every 
one, however, who is at all acquainted with the 
nature of society, must be aware that were such 
an unrestrained license, as regards visiting, to be 
allowed in England, the manners would become as 
free and degage; and it is in consequence of the 
severe misrepresentations of strangers, who have 
been kindly entertained at these turtulias, that 
the best societies, both in Buenos Ayres and 
Chile, are now cautious whom they admit on vi- 
siting terms; and the reception of foreigners is 
more formal and reserved. 

The evening dresses of the ladies are very 
tasteful, and I believe the French fashions are 
preferred. At balls and public assemblies, they 
are decorated with the finest fabrics that England, 
France, or the gorgeous East" can produce. 



BUENOS AYRKS. 



21 



There are in Buenos Ayres both French and 
English tailors^ mantiia-makers, and milliners, 
who follow close upon the best fashions in Eu- 
rope ; and there can be no doubt that it is a city 
considerably in advance of old Spain, with re- 
gard to modern stile and improvement ; the man- 
ners of the inhabitants assimilate more to those 
of the two great capitals, London and Paris, 
than to those of their more sedate and silent 
neighbours the Dutch. 

The coffee-houses are frequented by the best 
company, of the male sex only; as this city may 
be said to be the cradle of the revolution, politics 
and party spirit run very high, and have, on 
many occasions, drenched the streets with the 
blood of its citizens, both in partizan warfare 
and upon the scaiTold. More sanguinary pro- 
ceedings of this description have been exhibited 
in Buenos Ayres, than in any other tov/n in South 
America. 

The government has so repeatedly changed 
both its men and measures, since its emancipa- 
tion from despotism, that it would be difficult to 



22 



BUENOS AYRES. 



pass an opinion upon it. The established form 
is composed of a governor, calleoL President, and 
of the Cabildo, a municipal body elected by the 
citizens ; but it is not surprising that a nation 
whidi has so lately shaken off the thraldom of 
the blind and bigotted Spanish crown, should be 
unprepared for embracing at once all the advan- 
tages of liberty ; especially when we, in the old 
world, who so proudly boast of that blessing, can 
hardly be said to have attained it in perfection, 
after the lapse of centuries. 

The population of Buenos Ayres is estimated 
at one hundred thousand inhabitants, including 
Whites, Negroes, Mestizoes, and Indians. The 
pure Whites are not numerous, and the mass of the 
people are of such a mixed breed of Whites, In- 
dians, and Negroes, that it would be difficult to 
establish their exact origin : the Gauclios, or coun- 
trymen, descend, originally, fi'om a AMiite father 
and Indian mother. 

There was a scarcity of young men in the city, 
at the time I was there, 1817, but as the most 
honorable career open for a youth is the army. 



BUENO^ AY RES. 



23 



the destruction of this branch of the population, 
during the constant wars with Peru, the Bande 
Orientale, and in minor civil contests, is easily 
accounted for. This is, in a great measure, the 
reason that this fine city has not increased in 
population in proportion to younger countries 
that have enjoyed, almost uninterruptedly, the 
blessings of peace. 

The bull-fights, theatres, and cock-fights, 
were generally crowded. 

Dining one day with several English gentle- 
men, they proposed our going to see a bull-fight, 
which was to be a grand one, it being a festival 
day ; we accordingly went thither. The street 
leading out of the town, towards the ring, ex- 
tending about a quarter of a mile, was thronged 
with company, in calesas or on foot, and ladies, 
seated at the windows or balconies, on both sides 
of the way, gave the approach a very lively ap- 
pearance. 

We found the Bull Ring, (which is a spacious 
area surrounded by an amphitheatre,) already 
crowded by well-dressed company of both sexes^ 



24 



BUENOS AYRES. 



and of every class^, from the governor and his 
lady, to the Gaucho and his squaw. 

The bulls are fought one by one-, and, on some 
occasions, twenty are killed in the course of an 
afternoon. A door opens, and a wild bull, which 
has previously been goaded almost to madness, 
comes bounding into the ring, lashing his sides 
with his tail, and foaming at the mouth; he then 
stands still and looks about for an object of at- 
tack. His opponents are two picadores, on horse- 
back, each armed with a long lance ; eight or nine 
corredores, or runners, on foot; and a matador, 
who makes his appearance when the bull is to be 
despatched. 

The scene soon becomes verv animated: the 
bull making a rush first at one and then at 
another of his foes. The picadore requires great 
strength and agility in resisting the desperate 
charge the bull sometimes makes at him, and I 
have seen both the horse of one of them, and the 
bull, with their fore legs in the air, supported for 
an instant by the single spear of the picadore, 
which had pierced the shoulder of the latter 



BUENOS AYRES. 



25 



animal and thus forced him aside. The corredores 
next hover round him, and strike darts with fire- 
works attached to them, into his neck and shoul- 
ders, when he bellows in madness and becomes 
blind in his attacks, rushing at hap-hazard against 
every object, until, having been thus worried and 
tormented for some time, the matador is loudly 
called for to despatch him, who makes his ap- 
pearance with a crimson scarf in his left hand, and 
a long straight sword in his right. The bull fixes 
his eye upon him, as he holds up the scarf, and 
makes a rush, which is eluded by the matador 
with great activity; after a few passes of this 
sort, the matador waives the scarf for the last 
time, and receives the onset of the bull with his 
sword, vv^hich he sheathes in the carcass of his 
victim, and it falls stone dead at his feet. Loud 
cheers and waving of handkerchiefs now animate 
the spectators, and four Gauchos, on horseback, 
gallop into the ring waving their lassoes in the 
air, which in a twinkling they attach to the horns 
and legs of the bull, and, fixing them to their 
saddles, hurry the carcass from the arena, en- 
veloped in a dense cloud of dust. 



26 



BUENOS AYRES. 



Another bull soon makes his appearance and 
the amusement goes on as before. Sometmies a 
man is killed amidst the plaudits of the spec- 
tators, and very frequently horses are gored to 
death. Upon this occasion two horses were 
wounded; one galloped round the ring with his 
bowels streaming out. Sixteen bulls were killed 
in the course of this afternoon. 

Sometimes, when a bull displays superior cou- 
rage, the spectators beg his life, but it is merely a 
respite for him, as he is kept to be tortured and 
slain at a future exhibition. 

One of the picadores, a short thick-set respect- 
able looking man, upwards of sixty years of age, 
was pointed out to me as the murderer of several 
British soldiers during the time General Beres- 
ford had possession of Buenos Ayres. 

It was his custom, when he found one alone, 
to invite him into a pulperia, or gin-shop, and, 
under the pretence of drinking with him, watch 
an opportunity to plunge a knife into his victim, 
who seldom made more than one struggle, to the 
great amusement of the barbarous spectators. I 
nuist confess that it was only from a secret wish 



BUENOS AYRES. 



27 



that I might witness the destruction of this mis- 
creant in the ring, that I consented to remain, 
for, after seeing two or three bulls despatched, 
I was disgusted with an amusement which ap- 
peared to me to be very cruel and somewhat 
cowardly*. 

The theatre, at Buenos Ayres, is a neat build- 
ing, but I only visited it once, as I did not under- 
stand the language ; it then appeared well-at- 
tended. Horse-racing and cock-fighting were, I 
was told, the most prevalent diversions amongst 
the natives, but of the former T had no opportu- 
nity of judging, and I felt no inclination to see the 
latter. Near the doors of the poorer classes there 
is always standing a game-cock, tied by the leg, 
which shows that cock-fighting must be a very 

* This man was under sentence of death, in the time 
of Beresford, but escaped in consequence of the town 
having been retaken the day before his appointed exe- 
cution. It may, however, be some satisfaction to the 
reader to know that two years afterwards he was gored 
to death by a bull. — The diversion of bull-fighting is 
now discontinued, in Buenos Ayres, by a decree of the 
government. 



28 



BUENOS AYRES. 



general diversion. The lower class, in Buenos 
Ayres, are filthy in the extreme, except vvhen they 
put on their holiday clothes. The men dress in 
cloths and velveteens, and the women in baizes 
and cotton stuffs. Form.eriy, I was told, they 
ornamented their hair with gold and silver, but 
this precious metal was, at the time I speak of, 
very scantily sprinkled amongst them. Both 
sexes are particular, on holidays, in plaiting and 
festooning their hair, and the lower classes may 
then frequently be seen at their doors with the 
head of one neighbour on the lap of another, 
whose fingers are diligently employed in thinning 
the population from such thick-set preserves. 

The ^^ild deer of the Pampa affords good 
amusement for hunting, but this diversion is 
purely English, and was introduced by the mer- 
chants, who had a subscription club and were at- 
tired in scarlet coats. The dogs were imported 
from England. The sport afforded in the Pampas 
is excellent; the only impediments to be met with 
are the biscacho holes, which sometimes hurl both 
horse and rider to the ground, and, when deep, 
frequently break the legs of tlie horse. Tlic bis- 



BUENOS AYRES. 



29 



cacho is a sort of marmot^, about the size of a rab- 
bit; these animals burrow close under the surface 
of the earth, and are to be met with all over the 
Pampas. With the exception of these blind traps, 
nothing can be finer, being well mounted, than 
the gallop over these plains afford. The deer 
frequently gives a run of twenty miles in a straight 
line. There is a story told that when this hunt 
was in its infancy, after the first two or three 
turns out, one morning a fine buck was singled 
from the herd which afforded an animated chase, 
when a Gaucho, at a distance, perceiving a num- 
ber of dogs and horsemen in pursuit of a deer, 
darted across his path, caught it with his 
lasso, and instantly cut its throat. On the 
hunters coming up and reprimanding him for 
spoiling sport, he very innocently observed, he 
thought they wanted it "para corner'' (to eat.) 
Several young men of the country now join in 
this diversion. 

The trade of Buenos Ayres consists principally 
in exports of hides and tallow, and a number of 
people are employed in collecting these articles 



30 



BUENOS AYRES. 



in the Pampas. Charque, or jerked beef^ also 
forms a considerable branch of commerce, and 
mules are frequently exported to the Cape of 
Good Hope and the West Indies. The importa- 
tions from England are, chiefly, woollens, from 
Halifax, Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield, &c. ; 
cottons, from Glasgow, Paisley, Manchester, &c. ; 
and hardware from Sheffield and that town (Bir- 
mingham) which the elegant and sublime Burke so 
justly denominated the " toy-shop of Europe;" 
not forgetting goods from the potteries of Wor- 
cester and Staffordshire*, whose fragile ware, 

* A very ludicrous occurrence had just taken place 
in Buenos Ayres, when I was there. As some intelli- 
gent manufacturers considered that every thing with 
the patriot arms upon it must sell, an ingenious por- 
celain dealer had shipped a number of certain utensils 
with that symbol imprinted at the bottom. This was 
discovered at the Custom House, and the administador^ 
in great indignation, voted it an insult on the state, and 
ordered the china to be broken up for having the pa- 
triot arms and crest affixed in an improper place, which 
sentence was instantly carried into execution before 
the wondering eyes of the consignee, who stood gazing 
at this total loss of his crockery and commissions. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



31 



unfit to stand the civil storms of state," are 
quickly demolished, but as speedily replenished 
by those indefatigable artisans of clay. This lat- 
ter trade has been very profitable. French, 
India, and China goods are also found in abun- 
dance. 

A number of privateers were in the river, 
(with Buenos Ayres papers,) although most of them 
came from the United States. The Mammoth, 
True Blooded Yankee, and several others of 
lesser note, were lying at anchor with their re- 
spective prizes, captured from the Spaniards, most 
of them India or Manilla ships. One prize, the 
Triton, captured ofiP Madeira, by Captain Monson, 
who sailed direct from Baltimore, in a privateer, 
with Buenos Ayres papers, was estimated at 
the value of one million of dollars. The whole 
of these prize-cargoes were sold by public auc- 
tion, and the English as well as American agents 
reaped a lucrative harvest from this traffic. 

The immediate vicinity of Buenos Ayres, is 
flat; it is part of the great Pampas, which ex- 
tends, with little variety, from the sea to the 



32 



BUENOS AYRES. 



foot of the Andes; and south, as far as the 
confines of Patagonia. The south- west winds, 
called pamperos, blow across the waste with asto- 
nishing violence. These pamperos resemble the 
tornadoes in the West Indies, but are of longer 
duration; the mariners dread their fury, which 
seldom subsides without doing much mischief to 
the shipping in the river, and their force is some- 
times felt far out at sea. 

The principal inhabitants, as well as the Eng- 
lish merchants, have their country-houses, or 
quintas in the neighbourhood, where occasionally 
parties meet to a fete-champetre. These quintas 
are built of earth and cane ; their furniture is in- 
ferior to that of the town residences, but they are 
very refreshing to retire to during the hot sum- 
mer months. Several of these country-boxes stand 
on the high banks of the river, and have a fine 
look-out for many miles around. Corn, maize, 
vegetables, and fruit are only raised in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the town. The great Ameri- 
can aloes serve for hedges to the plantations, and 
although they are so large as to extend over a 



BUENOS AYRES. 



33 



surface of from twenty to twenty-five feet^ yet the 
land being abundant^ the encroachment is un- 
heeded ; this and the opuntia, or prickly pear, 
which often grows to the height of thirty feet, 
present an insurmountable barrier both to man 
and beast. 

The Gauchos are the Christian inhabitants of 
the Pampas ; they are a mixed breed between the 
White and the Indian. With the aboriginal In- 
dians these people are always in deadly feud, 
and as constantly either upon a system of at- 
tack or defence with them. These wild Indians 
inhabit the Pampas beyond the Christian boun- 
dary. They are an independent and fearless set 
of men, but ferocious and cruel to their enemies, 
never giving quarter, as their system of war is that 
of extermination. The prodigious feats which they 
perform on horseback is the theme of praise and 
wonder even amongst the Gauchos. As I have, for- 
tunately, never met with any of them in a body on 
the plains, and as this work is intended only to de- 
scribe what I have actually seen, I beg to refer 
to the very intelligent account given of these 

D 



34 BUENOS AYRES. 

people by Captain Head, in his Ptough Notes 
on the Pampas;' to the correctness of which I 
can attest, so far as that the same description has 
been given to me both by my own countrymen 
and by the natives, who have had opportunities 
of seeing these people. I saw a few of them who 
had come to Buenos Ayres from Patagonia to dis- 
pose of their ponchos and ostrich feathers, in 
barter, for blankets, knives, and tobacco. I was 
particularly struck by the appearance of one of 
their chieftains, who stood, upwards of six feet 
highs reclining against a post in the market-place, 
with his arms folded, and in such silent grandeur 
of repose that he brought to my mind the dignity 
of John Kemble in his great character of Corio- 
lanus. 

It is now high time to leave Buenos Ayres, at 
which place, owing to wind, weather, and other 
obstructions, my vessel had been detained ten 
days. At the period I speak of, 1817, few Eng- 
lishmen had ever crossed those immense plains, 
the Pampas, and the difficuties and dangers in- 
cident upon a journey over the Cordilleras were 



BUENOS AYRES. 



35 



considered almost insurmountable. I applied, how- 
ever to an Englishman, Mr. Edward Lawson, 
who had actually crossed them twice, and al- 
though he assured me that it was far from a tour 
of pleasure, yet he preferred it to going round 
Cape Horn. Indeed I felt no desire to make that 
voyage in the vessel I had come out with: she 
was a sharp Baltimore-built clipper, of 180 tons 
burthen, had been formerly a slaver, but was 
captured off Sierra Leone by a British cruizer, 
whilst employed in that horrible and illegal traf- 
fic, and was afterwards sold in England as a 
prize. She had been so overloaded in London, 
for her present voyage, that the water was almost 
upon a level with the scuppers, and, in a breeze, 
the sea was always sweeping her decks, upon 
which I had found it necessary, during most of 
the passage, to parade barefoot. No convenience 
for the passengers, nor even safety for the vessel, 
had been considered, in the eagerness displayed 
to load her with goods which were expected to 
yield cent per cent. I was obliged, in conse- 
quence, to discharge part of the cargo, both for 

D 2 



36 



BUENOS AYRES. 



the comfort of the people and for the security of 
the vessel, during such a perilous voyage as that 
of doubling Cape Horn. 

These matters being settled, I despatched the 
ship to Valparaiso, having made up my mind for 
the land expedition. A South American gentle- 
man, Don Manuel Balenzuela, a native and resi- 
dent of Mendoza, was about to return home in 
his carriage, which mode of conveyance was re- 
commended to me as far preferable to the fatigue 
of horseback; this, combined with my ignorance 
of the language, caused me to accept a seat in 
that gentleman's carriage, for which I was to pay 
at the same ratio as if I had hired horses. The 
day for departure being arrived, the coach started 
early, as there were several marshes, called joaw- 
tanas, to cross, and it was to halt, at the first 
stage, seven leagues distant ; but I remained un- 
til the afternoon, having determined to ride this 
first stage on horseback, and accordingly a guide 
was left to conduct me. After dinner, having 
established my head, for the first time, in the 
slit of the beautiful poncho, or South American 



BUENOS AYllES. 37 

cloak^ I shook hands with my English friends, 
and, mounting my horse, rode out of the city. 
It was almost dark, when I found myself com- 
mencing a journey of twelve hundred miles, with- 
out the prospect of a soul to speak to all the way ; 
for, as I have before stated, at that period I 
hardly knew a syllable of Spanish, and the gen- 
tleman I was about to travel with was unac- 
quainted with either French or English. This 
was a complete non-conductor to sociability, and 
upon trying, in vain, to make my wild-looking 
guide comprehend a question, I became fully 
aware of my forlorn situation, and discovered 
that my tongue was condemned to a long holi- 
day. This certainly was not setting out under 
the most agreeable auspices, nor was it calcu- 
lated to make one quite in love with the country, 
to be riding in a strange place, at night, on 
a half-wild shaggy horse, whose only pace was 
a hard gallop, going through a high grass 
which reached to his shoulder, and accompanied 
by a guide who kept shrieking and singing like a 
wood-demon. I occasionally felt inclined to abate 



38 



BUENOS AYRES. 



my pace^ but my savage either would not, or could 
not understand. Adelante ! adelante ! " * was liis 
cry always, in full speed, and I followed, as fast as 
my horse would carry me, lest I should be left be- 
hind and lost. This pace continued, for nearly two 
hours, when I perceived a light, which fortunately 
proved to come from the post-house, and which I 
reached tired to death, vexed, harassed, and wet, 
(for the rain had come down heavily,) and thus 
terminated this twenty-one mile stage. 

I dismounted at the door of a miserable hut, 
where my companions were already housed and 
in bed; a light was procured from a neighbour- 
ing shed, which served for a kitchen, and around 
the dying embers of the fire, a group of half- 
naked Gauchos lay huddled together, nestled for 
the night. From what I had heard in Buenos A yres, 
I was prepared for rough bed and board, but a 
mere transition, from the capital to the first post, 
led one to expect, if not good accommodation, 
at least something tolerable, — there was no such 

* Onward! onward! 



BUENOS AYRES. 



39 



thing. Any Indian wigwam is as good as was 
this apology for a house. On entering, my friend, 
Don Manuel, and his companion, (another gen- 
tleman, also going to Mendoza,) lay stretched on 
their mattresses on the floor. There was neither 
table nor chair in the hut, and its walls were of a 
dark mud colour, with holes in them large enough 
to admit a 48-pounder, the whole presenting such 
a woe-begone scene of wretchedness, as by no 
means tended to lessen my weariness and vexa- 
tion. 

The people in South America, are so uncom- 
monly attentive to their own repose, that, when 
they once get to bed, nothing short of an earth- 
quake will arouse them; therefore to expect any 
supper, at that time of nighty was out of the 
question, and my guide, after sticking the miser- 
able-looking tallow-candle against the wall of the 
hovel, — ^for candlestick there was none, — vanished^, 
to take up his quarters for the night. 

Neither of my companions offered to rise, and 
we were mute perforce; so I found myself com- 
pelled to seek repose, in self defence, therefore 



40 



BUENOS AYRES. 



opening my mattress, which had been brought 
into the hut, I cast it upon a bull's hide, on the 
floor, and, cold, hungry, and dejected, threw my- 
self upon it. After apostrophising my unlucky 
stars, and making sundry wise vows, I soon 
forgot my misery in a profound sleep. 



41 



CHAPTER III. 

Travelling in the Pampas. Our Cortege, The Vil- 
lage of Luxan. Disagreeables of the Journey. Ve- 
locity of Travelling. Wild Animals. Arrival at 
San Luis, 

The shrill voice of a Gaucho awakened me ; he 
came evidently to announce to us its being time 
to depart, as day had broke, — which fact was 
corroborated by light stealing in through the nu- 
merous holes in the wall. We immediately arose, 
to allow our baggage to be packed up and ar- 
ranged for the journey. The first thing which a 
Pampa traveller calls for, on awakening, is mate, 
or Paraguay tea, which being placed in a small 
gourd, boiling water is poured upon it, with some- 
times the addition of sugar ; this preparation is 
sucked out of the gourd through a small cane or 
silver tube. The mate will admit of two or 



42 



THE PAMPAS. 



three replenishes of water, and is passed from 
one to the other, with the most obliging polite- 
ness, the same tuhe serving for the whole com- 
pany. This being discussed, a cigar makes its 
appearance, as a never-failing auxiliary to every 
Spanish refreshment. Not to be out of fashion,, 
I took mate this morning, and found it very pa- 
latable ; it has an agreeable bitter to the taste, 
and is by many preferred to tea. For the sake 
of the adage I also accepted and smoked a paper 
cigar for the first time. I had now an oppor- 
tunity of reconnoitering the machine which was to 
convey us nine hundred miles into the interior* 
It was a carriage in true keeping with its con- 
ductors, being rough, rude, and ready ; it had no 
springs, and was slung upon traces of hide. It 
was, in appearance, one of those Noah's-ark-built 
vehicles, capable of containing pa' and ma' and 
six children ; but this was as it should be, and 
contributed much to our comfort, there being but 
three inside places " booked." The wheels were of 
an immense circumference, to make it run lighter, 
and wade through the numerous pantanas, or 



THE PAMPAS. 



43 



marshes^ with more ease. These wheels were 
bound round and round with thongs of bull's 
hide, which contributed much to their security 
and strength ; indeed without such a precaution 
it would have been impossible for the carriage to 
have withstood the numerous shocks experienced 
in the most rugged parts of the road. Every 
thing was now in full preparation for a move. 
Our corps consisted of Don Manuel, his friend 
Don Alphonso, and myself, in the carriage ; Don 
Melchor, my friend's steward, who travelled on 
horseback, and held the privy purse ; a principal 
peon, or guide, who acted as head postilion ; and 
three rough-looking Gaucho lads, with Madras 
handkerchiefs tied on their heads, which were 
roofed with straw hats, about the shape and size 
of a sugar loaf. These lads were clad in woollen 
ponchos, their leggings, or boots, w^ere made from 
the skin of the horse, which they had dexterously 
transferred from the legs of that animal to their 
own, and wore them the hairy side inwards, suf- 
fering the naked toes to protrude ; for the two big 
ones are very important members in the Pampas, 



44? THE PAMPAS. 

being all that is thrust into the small triangular 
wooden stirrup of the Gaucho. Besides these 
followers, we hired two postilions at every stage, 
who returned with the horses. I also hired a 
horse for my baggage, consisting of two petacas, 
or hide trunks, and my mattress enveloped in a 
broad leather case, called an ahnafres, Don 
Manuel had likewise a horse for his luggage, that 
the coach might not be encumbered, and I was 
particularly struck with the dexterity the peons 
evinced, in adjusting the loads to equal weight, 
which they did with as much precision and cele- 
rity as a tobacconist would display in balancing a 
pound of snuiF. These loads rarely shifted during 
a stage, although the horses went loose and at 
full gallop, keeping close to their colleagues in 
the carriage. Upon the top of my luggage, I 
mounted my old friend and travelling companion, 
the " sample box," which indeed was a very impor- 
tant appendage to this expedition, as it served as 
a sort of avant courier, to indicate with exacti- 
tude the true nature and complexion of the heavy 
detachment of flannels and calicoes which were 



THE PAMPAS. 



45 



then under full sail, booming round Cape Horn. 
Every thing being ready, the postmaster, accord- 
ing to custom, being paid before hand for his 
horses, the usual salutation observed of taking 
off hats, and the benevolent wish of Vaya v con 
Dios, the six postilions attached one end of their 
lassoes to the coach, and the other to the girth of 
their saddles, and setting up a loud whoop in 
concert, dashed off at full gallop. 

There is nothing like quick travelling to give a 
fillip to the spirits, " seasoning your blood as 
cayenne does a curry," and certainly when I 
found myself whisked through the Pampas at the 
rate of twelve miles an hour, I began to think 
that things were not quite so bad. Don Manuel 
and his companion, Don Alphonso Somnus were 

* I have forgotten this gentleman's sirname, having 
never seen him before or since this journey, and have 
taken the liberty to name him Somnus, from his con- 
stant devotion to the shrine of that deity ; it may be 
truly said of him, as well as of many other intelligent 
travellers who have crossed that country at various pe- 
riods, that he literally "slept all over the Continent." 



46 



THE PAMPAS. 



already in confabulation, but as I did not under- 
stand their discourse, I was left to my own 
musings. 

The appearance the country presented was 
that of a dreary flat, not a habitation to be seen, 
nor a tree, nor a shrub ; it was covered with high 
grass, and full of marshes; however, we got on 
with great velocity, until in due time we arrived 
at the next post, (six leagues distant,) which was 
merely a few miserable huts, with about a dozen 
men, women, and children, all as squalid and 
filthy as possible. The horses were in the corral, 
a circular inclosure, formed of stakes stuck in the 
ground. The postilions, on arriving at full gal- 
lop, disengaged themselves so suddenly from the 
carriage, that it continued to move for some mo- 
ments without horses ; they then unloosed their 
lassoes and went into the corral, each to select 
his own horse; the baggage was shifted, and the 
whole party fresh mounted. This operation only 
caused a delay of a few minutes, and every thing- 
being adjusted as before, we were soon again on 
the road at full speed. At the hour of ten we 



fUE PAMPAS. 47 

entered the pleasant village of Luxan, where we 
had settled we would breakfast. 

Here I saw the little Gaucho lads flying kites, 
of the same form as the boys make in England; 
this was the first diversion I had seen exactly si- 
milar to one of Europe. We drew up before the 
house of the alcalde, who was seated in his sala, 
which was none of the cleanest; his wife or mis- 
tress was seated in the room, playing the guitar, 
accompanied in a duet by another lady. The al- 
calde received Don Manuel with marked dis- 
tinction and respect, and immediately ordered 
breakfast, which was soon in progress. The ta- 
ble was laid with a clean damask cloth, furnished 
by Don Manuel, and in half an hour the dishes 
were smoking upon it : these consisted of a chupe 
de Gallinas, a masamora, eggs, coffee, chocolate, 
claret, and Carlone wines, and some excellent 
white bread. The alcalde, having breakfasted, 
sat near Don Manuel, and amused him with his 
discourse, at the same time puffing a paper cigar 
close under his nose, which did not seem to be 
any annoyance. As I was very hungry, after my 



48 



THE PAMPAS. 



last night's fast, I paid due attention to this 
breakfast, especially to the cliupe, which is an 
excellent dish, composed of fowls boiled in rice, 
and interspersed with potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, 
and onions. 

The masamora is maize boiled in the bean, 
and is as white as snow; it is a palatable dish 
when seasoned with pepper, salt, and vinegar. 

The second course was the came asada,^* or 
the roast beef, the standard dish of the Pampas ; 
it is cooked in large steaks, stuck upon wooden 
spits, upright before the fire; this beef was ten- 
der and delicious, but not very fat. 

Fresh horses were procured, but whilst the ar- 
rangements were making, we w^alked about the 
village for a quarter of an hour. It does not 
contain more than eight hundred inhabitants, but 
has a church and prison, which of course are the 
largest buildings. The alcalde's house is next in 
size ; he kept a small shop for colonial produce, 
linen drapery, and rat traps, in short, a sort of 
omnihus. 

Having re-entered the carriage, we bade adieu 



THE PAMPAS. 49 

to our host, and proceeded out of the village at 
full gallop, and thus passed the ports of Ala de 
Lopes, Ala de Sorrate, Areci, &c. which are mere 
miserable hovels, composed of reeds, plastered 
with mud, and a hide for the door; the people 
are squalid, filthy, and the picture of indolence ; 
sometimes we had to wait till the horses were 
brought from pasture into the corral, when they 
came at full speed, like a charge of cavalry, 
making the plain echo again with their hoofs and 
their neighings. These horses have a most un- 
polished appearance, as they are never touched 
from the time they are foaled, except to be bri- 
dled and saddled. Their manes and tails are 
suffered to grow ad libitum, and as their hoofs 
are never pared, some of them are twisted into a 
variety of shapes; when the horses have been 
feeding amongst the thistles, their manes are co- 
vered with burrs, and they look like perfect non- 
descripts ; however, they are full of spirit, and 
will do a surprising deal of work, notwithstand- 
ing their green food. 

We slept the second night in a dark hut as 
E 



50 THE PAMPAS. 

before. In the morning, we forded the river Arecife, 
and on the opposite bank, found a hamlet, where 
there was a pulperia, and a battery of two small 
culverins, upon a platform, to resist the Indians. 
Here, after dining upon came asada, we pro- 
ceeded and slept at the ^ost of Arroj/a del Medio, 
twelve leagues in advance, thus performing twen- 
ty-five leagues that day. Indeed, our average 
distance, throughout the journey, was from twenty 
to twenty-four leagues. We always started as 
soon after day-break as possible, for the postmas- 
ter will not allow any horses to leave the corral 
after sunset, unless by express order from the 
Governor of Buenos Ayres. At the post where 
we slept, I was much annoyed by the fleas, and 
other insects, which I soon discovered form one 
of the most serious grievances an European has to 
contend with. The natives did not appear to 
suffer from the attacks of these insect picado?'es. 
However, I shall not distress the reader by enu- 
merating the privations I endured during every 
stage of this journey, nor dwell in description 
upon all and every one I met with, as seemeth to 
be much the custom" amongst modern travellers. 



THE PAMPAS. 



51 



Neither do I think it material to state, daily, 
whether our hostess was "fair" or "foul," or 
whether her daughter was coy or kind, nor that 
we sometimes dined upon beef without bread, and 
at others, on bread without beef, and I cannot 
say that, after a day's fatigue, I always noticed 
whether my seat was the skeleton head of a 
horse or an ass. Nor will I horrify the sensitive 
by detailing the posts, where the rats amused 
themselves by nibbling my hair and toes, whilst 
I was lying upon a hide, in the vain endeavour 
to procure a siesta, and how many a time and oft, 
on awakening in the morning, I found myself 
stung like a tench," by the numerous benchu- 
cas*, bugs, and piebald *]• fleas, which infest this 
region in every direction. 

* The benchuca is a large beetle, about the size of a 
cockroach. 

if A friend of mine, who was very curious in these 
matters, assured me that, through a microscope, he had 
discovered that the fleas in the Pampas were black 
and white, and streaked like a zebra. I cannot speak 
to this, as whenever I caught one, I despatched it, 
without giving it the benefit of a single examination. 

E 2 



52 



THE PAMPAS. 



One day's travelling in the Pampas very much 
resembles that of another, the only variety is, that 
in some places you can get nothing to eat, except 
such provender as you have kept in store, but oc- 
casionally they bake bread of wheat, or maize, 
and beef is in general to be found; but as 
this may not be relished alone, I should re- 
commend a traveller to provide himself, in case 
of emergency, with hams, tongues, sausages, or 
things of that nature, which may be preserved 
through the journey, and a bag of sea biscuit 
will not be found inconvenient. These my friend, 
Don Manuel, who was an old voijageur across 
this wilderness, had amply provided, which, toge- 
ther with chocolate, coffee, pickles, and sweet- 
meats, and occasionally " roughing it out" with a 
bottle of champaign, secured us from any serious 
degree of suffering. However, as it is not always 
convenient for the traveller to hire a carriage in 
which such things can be easily stowed, a peta- 
ca, or hide trunk, would answer every purpose; 
but a horse-traveller, to be perfectly comfortable, 
ought to have a camp-bed and a canteen. 



THE PAMPAS. 



53 



I have stated, that the inhabitants of the Pampas 
are called Gauchos; these people may be said to 
live on horseback ; a more frank, free, and indepen- 
dent being, than the Gaucho, does not exist. He is 
clad in the poncho, which is manufactured by the 
women ; it is about the size and shape of a small 
blanket, with a slit in the centre, to admit 
the head; it therefore serves to keep out the 
wet and wind, and leaves the arms at perfect 
liberty. The poncho is originally an Indian gar- 
ment; it is generally made of wool, and beauti- 
fully interwoven with colours; it is sometimes 
worn slung across the shoulders, sometimes as a 
belt, and is always used for a blanket at night. 
The jacket is either composed of coarse cloth, or 
baize, or of velveteen ; the breeches, which are 
open at the knees, are of the same materials ; the 
breast of the jacket and the knees are usually 
ornamented with a profusion of small silver or 
filagree buttons. I have before mentioned, that 
a Gaucho's leggings are composed of horse's skin, 
and his toes are left bare. His spurs are either 
of silver or iron, with rowels of an enormous cir- 



54 



THE PAMPAS. 



cumference;, and with sharp spikes ; a straw hat, 
with a cotton handkerchief tied round his face, 
completes his dress. His saddle is composed of 
a simple wooden tree, covered with leather, and 
called a recado; it is shaped like a military sad- 
dle, and is covered with pellons or rugs, and a 
dyed sheepskin; in fixing the saddle, no buckles 
are used, the girth being composed of thin slips 
of hide attached to an iron or wooden ring which 
is fastened by a thong to another small ring at- 
tached to the saddle; the stirrup is either of 
wood or silver ; when of the former, it is only made 
large enough to fit the great toe, but the better 
sort sometimes use the latter, which is larger. 
His bit is like a Mameluke's, with an iron ring for 
the liorse's chin, and is very hard and sharp. The 
covering of his saddle serves the Gaucho for a 
bed, and he is thus sure of a lodging wherever 
nightfall may find him. He always carries the 
lasso, a rope made of twisted hide, about thirty- 
five feet in length, and very slight and flexible; 
he forms one end into a slip noose, which he can 
throw over the head of any animal with unerring 



THE PAMPAS. 



55 



aim. He gathers the lasso into coils before he 
discharges it^ always retaining hold of one end;, 
and thus secures his object. He also carries the 
holas, which are three small wooden or iron halls, 
each attached to a separate thong, about six feet 
in length ; these are tied together, and he can 
throw them to a much greater distance than his 
lasso. H^e whirls them three or four times round 
his head, and sends them to his mark with ad- 
mirable precision ; the balls form a triangle as 
they fly through the air, and alighting about the 
head or legs of the animal, instantly arrest its 
progress. In this manner the wild deer and 
ostrich (which are fleeter than horses,) are gene- 
rally taken; sometimes the force of the balls 
breaks the legs of the victim. A long carving 
knife, about fourteen inches in length, placed in 
a leathern sheath, which is stuck in his girdle, or 
leggings, completes the Gaucho's equipment, and 
thus simply armed and mounted on his good 
steed he is lord of all he beholds. The lion and 
tiger, the wild bull and horse, the deer and 
ostrich, alike dread him ; he owns no master, tills 



56 



THE PAMPAS. 



no ground, hardly knows what a government 
means ; in the whole course of his life, perhaps, has 
never visited a town, and has as much idea of a 
mountain or a sea, as his under-ground neighbour, 
the biscacha. Some of the younger Gauchos have 
told me that they were sometimes unhappy, por 
amor',' but when they get to years of discretion, 
you will never hear them utter a complaint 
against their destiny. In fact, they are a race 
with fewer wants and desires than any I have 
ever met with. Simple, not savage, are the lives 
of these "unsighing people" of the plains. 

Nothing can impress the beholder with a no- 
bler idea of independence than a Gaucho on 
horseback ; his elevated head, his upright and 
graceful air, the rapid movements of his well- 
trained steed, all concur to give a true pic- 
ture of the beau ideal of freedom. His hut is 
small and square, with a few posts for uprights, 
and wattled with osier twigs, plastered over with 
mud, and sometimes merely protected by hides. 
The roof is thatched with straw and reeds, open 
in the centre, to permit the smoke to escape; a 



THE PAMPAS. 



57 



few blocks of wood^ or the scull bones of horses, 
serve for seats ; a small table^ about eighteen 
inches high^ to play cards upon; a crucifix, hung 
on the wall, and sometimes an image of St. An- 
tonio, or some other patron saint, are the orna- 
ments of this dwelling. Sheep-skins for the wo- 
men and children to lie upon, and a small fire in 
the centre^ are its only luxuries; the Gaucho, 
when at home, is either sleeping or gambling; 
there was scarcely a hut we passed, wherein a 
few men were assembled, but this pastime was to 
be witnessed ; and, occasionally, a friar, in a dirty 
tunic, was to be seen as eager in the game as the 
rest. Should the weather be wet, the family and 
visitors, dogs, pigs, and poultry, are all assembled 
in the hut, in one promiscuous melange ; and as 
the smoke, from the damp fuel, generally fills 
half the hut, the forms appear, through the 
gloom of such an atmosphere, to resemble the 
shadowy ghosts in Ossian. A few fruit trees are 
occasionally planted near the hut. The Guacho 
women dress in chemises of coarse cotton, petti- 
coats of baize, or blue cloth, their arms and neck 



58 THE PAMPAS. 

• 

are left bare; when they ride out^ they wear 
scarfs^ or shawls, made of baize of a brilliant co- 
lour, and men's hats, either of straw or vvoollen. 
They sit sideways on horseback, and are as 
good equestrians as the men. The women are 
employed in cultivating the little Indian corn, 
which serves them for bread; they also raise 
water-melons and onions, and w^eave coarse baizes 
and ponchos. The use of tobacco is common to 
both sexes; they consume it in the shape of ci- 
gars, the tobacco being either enveloped in paper, 
or the leaf of Indian corn. Their cookery uten- 
sils are usually of clay, and their platters of 
wood. Occasionally I have seen, in one of these 
miserable hovels, a large silver dish, but so black 
with dirt, that it was necessary to scrape it with a 
knife, before its quality could be ascertained. 
During the time of the Spaniards, iron was more 
difficult to procure than silver, which may be ac- 
counted for by there being no iron mines worked 
in South America. Since the revolution, how^- 
ever, so many different parties of Montoneros and 
Indians have plundered the inhabitants of the 



THE PAMPAS. 



59 



Pampas, that the before-named valuable utensils 
have almost entirely disappeared from amongst 
them. The Gauchos are very fond of aguardiente^ 
which is a spirit distilled from the grape; but 
they are seldom betrayed into that state of ine- 
briety, which is so common to the poorer classes 
in England. 

The country called the Pampas, is quite flat 
and uninteresting, as far as regards scenery ; you 
ride from post to post, without the least change 
of view ; it looks (if the expression may be used^, 
and a bull pardoned,) like a sea of land. It 
abounds with long grass and weeds, as far as 
Arroya del Medio, but here it becomes more fer- 
tile, with plenty of brush-wood and small trees, 
many of them fruit trees, — peaches, plums, al- 
monds, &c. From the Arroya del Medio to the 
Esqueno de Balesteros, the posts are very mise- 
rable all the way. This is the debateable ground 
between the wild Pampa Indians and the Gau- 
chos; therefore the posts of Tigre, Cabem del 
Cru% Alta, Salladillo, Fraile Meurto, are all 
fortified, to resist the sanguinary attacks of the 
Indians. 



60 



THE PAMPAS. 



The mode of fortification deserves remark on 
account of its singularity. Prickly pears, which 
grow to the height of twenty-five to thirty feet, 
are planted close together, in a circular form, 
and within this enclosure the inhabitants of the 
hamlet shelter themselves; sometimes, there 
is a ditch round these defences. As the Indians 
are only armed with bows and arrows, and long 
spears, they cannot make any impression. The 
Gauchos have usually muskets, and can fire se- 
curely from behind their vegetable forts, and it is 
impossible for either horse or man to break 
through them. 

I have been told that the Indians sometimes 
ride quite near to the ditch, uttering loud war- 
yells of defiance, and prancing about as if in deri- 
sion, playing a hundred fantastical tricks on their 
horses. The horses of the Indians are considered 
the best in the plains, the pastures to the south 
being richer ; they likewise take more care of 
them than the Gauchos do : they never ride the 
mares, which are wholly kept for breeding and 
for food, of which they afford the best possible 



THE PAMPAS. 



61 



supply to their wild masters, as they gallop 
along with the troop on all marauding expe- 
ditions ; and the Indians can thus always surprize 
the Christians by the speed of their movements, 
and not suffer from famine. 

Some of the forts were furnished, in the time 
of the Spaniards, with small cannon, but they are 
now so old and honeycombed, that I think the 
chance is, should they ever be discharged 
again, that the garrison would be the sufferers. 
After all, these defences are but poor ones, 
when the Indians are in any number, and 
as they prefer making a nocturnal surprize, they 
generally attain their object, and frequently, in 
one night, destroy a whole hamlet and its po- 
pulation. They kill all the men, old women, and 
children, and carry away such of the younger 
women as happen to have the luck to suit 
their fancy, together with the horses and cattle 
from the corrals, and leave their habitations in a 
blaze. 

The Gauchos tell horrible stories of the atro- 
cities committed by their savage neighbours. 



62 



THE PAMPAS. 



which are well authenticated by the evidence of 
the black ruins of huts^ through this line of coun- 
try; however the two tribes are generally much 
upon an equality^ as the Guachos invariably cut 
the throats of such of " los Indios malditos " as 
may chance to fall into their hands. 

I saw two Indian children, at one of the huts, 
called Candeleria ; they had been spared by a mer- 
ciful Gaucho, when their parents and all their 
tribe had been massacred, in one of the Pampa 
skirmishes ; he had adopted them as his own, and 
they were playing with his children at the door. 
The eldest was not above seven years old ; they 
were both stark naked ; their colour was tawney, 
and they were extremely ugly : their legs were 
short and bandy, and their long bodies seemed 
inflated like toads. Their heads were as round 
as cannon-balls, and as their coarse black hair 
hung over their yet blacker eyes, and they opened 
their wide mouths to laugh, T thought that I had 
never seen two such hideous little monsters. 

From the Canada de Lucas to the Tamho, the 
country is flat and very marshy, but on approach- 



THE PAMPAS. 



63 



ing the river Quarto, the first high land, called 
the Sierra de Cordova, is seen stretching off to 
the North, and, after passing the Barranquitos, 
near river Quarto, the country hecomes hilly, 
especially about the Achiras Portomelo and the 
Moro, — this last is the highest point on the 
whole journey, and after crossing a large plain, 
thirty leagues in extent, you arrive at the Punta 
de San Luis. 

The most remarkable animals in the Pampas 
are, the lion, or cougar, which is much inferior 
in size and ferocity to the African lion, to which 
it bears little resemblance. The tiger, or jaguar, 
is a very formidable animal, hardly inferior in 
size to the Bengal tiger; it is spotted like a 
leopard, and is found near the banks of the river 
Plate. The deer are about the size of the com- 
mon English deer. The hare is also to be 
met with, and the biscacha is seen in every 
direction. There are, of the feathered tribe, 
ostriches, wild swans, geese, ducks, snipes^ par- 
tridges, quails, owls, doves, parrots, and numer- 
ous smaller birds. 



64 



THE PAMPAS. 



But to return to my narrative : — In the course 
of a few days, Don Manual and myself had esta- 
blished a sort of bastard dialect, made up of La- 
tin, French, and Spanish; this, with the aid of 
pantomime, enabled us to comprehend each other 
tolerably well : as we had our fowling-pieces, 
we frequently halted for a few hours and made 
some havoc amongst the palomas, or doves, par- 
tridges and parrots; at one stage we shot some 
wild geese, near one of the lagunas salinas *. 

On the third day of our travels we slept at 
Demochados, a wretched hut indeed, and more 
than usually full of vermin. I had here an op- 
portunity of distinguishing between the bite of a 
large scarlet musquito, and that of a benchuca, 
but am still at a loss to which to give the prefer- 
ence. 

Nothing particular had hitherto occurred dur- 
ing the journey, but on leaving this post, the fol- 
lowing morning, the horse which carried my in- 
estimable sample-box, fell, and in the tumble dis- 



* Salt lakes. 



THE PAMPAS. 



65 



lodged my treasure from his back, with such force 
that the lid came off, and its contents were dis- 
charged upon the plain ; and, as the wind was 
blowing half a pampero, they went " scattering 
in the gale;" the carriage halted, and the peons 
instantly disengaged themselves from the vehicle, 
and went in pursuit of the fugitives. My friends 
in the coach were much amused at this scene, 
and, although the accident was likely to prove a 
serious one, I could not help joining in their 
mirth, on beholding the natives, on horseback, in 
full chase after these shreds and patches," which 
displayed themselves in the sun like gaudy but- 
terflies. Whether the Gauchos thought that there 
w^as a virtue in each of the samples, unlike those 
which issued from the box of Pandora, I have 
not ascertained, but it was some time before my 
escapados" were collected in by the aid of this 
light cavalry. Having re-imprisoned the desert- 
ers, I tied the box round with a tliong, to make 
this the last as v/ell as the first accident of the 
kind. In the course of tlie same morning we saw 
a Gaucho in pursuit of an ostrich, which, with its 

F 



06 



THE PAMPAS. 



long neck stretched horizontally, and its wings 
outspread like sails, scarcely appeared to touch 
the ground in the rapid race. Its pursuer, waving 
his holas aloft, continued in full cry, for some 
moments, when, discharging his missiles, he 
brought the bird to the earth : he then cut off its 
long neck to make a purse of the skin, and 
stripped its wings and its tail of the feathers, 
leaving the body to perish where it fell. 

The natives enjoy hunting their feathered 
game, with all the ardour I have seen displayed 
by veteran fox-hunters in England, when in full 
tally-ho" after the four-footed ^^red rover." 

The biscachas abound all over the plains : 
these little innocent animals generally make their 
appearance about an hour before the sun sets, 
and gambol about in his departing rays. Dur- 
ing the day they are seldom seen but at the 
mouth of their caves; it is strange that two 
owls may be almost always observed standing, 
as if on guard. I have never learnt whe- 
ther any affinity exists between the biscachas 
and these birds. The owls have an aspect of 



THE PAMPAS. 



67 



great solemnity, and as they stand apart at 
each side of the cavern, they remind one of 
those two mute and melancholy looking gentle- 
men, so frequently seen stationed at the doors 
of houses in England, as the prologue to the 

performance " of a funeral. 

We pursued our route pleasantly enough, and 
observed various kinds of wild cattle and troops 
of horses, which abound in these trackless wastes. 
Occasionally the wild deer would gaze upon us, 
as we gallopped past, and the small birds were so , 
tame that they seldom rose through fear. 

We were constantly meeting and overtaking 
troops of huge unweildy carts and waggons, em- 
ployed in carrying on trade between Buenos Ayres 
and the interior towns ; these carts may be heard^ 
by their creaking wheels, nearly half a league off ; 
they are drawn by oxen ; sometimes eight or ten 
are attached to the waggons, in pairs, and are 
goaded along by spiked poles suspended from the 
inside of the vehicle. These carts and waggons 
have all a circular covering of hide; they take 
manufactured goods from Buenos Ayres, and re- 

F 2 



68 



THE Px\MPAS. 



turn with the country produce of brandies, wines, 
salt, hides, tallow, &c. 

The drivers and Gauchos whom we met, always 
moved their hats, with haye v con Dios, — indeed 
they are habitually civil and polite, much more 
so than is usually found amongst the lower classes 
of an educated society in Europe. 

On the seventh day we slept at the post of 
Achiras, which is most romantically situated 
amongst the rocks ; there is an orchard and vine- 
yard attached to this stage. The ride from 
thence to Portozuelo is very agreeable, being 
partly through a plain of high grass. The fa- 
mily, at this place, have fixed their habitation 
in a spot somewhat retired from the direct road, 
and it resembles a hermitage in the wilderness. 
From Portozuelo to the Moro, the road becomes 
extremely hilly, and on leaving the latter place, 
which is a small hamlet, Don Manuel proposed 
th^it we should ride a long wearisome stage on 
horseback, as the pace of the carriage would be 
very slow. 

We could not persuade Don Alphonso to ac- 



THE PAMPAS. 



69 



company us, as such a motion was extremely- 
favourable to his usual lethargy ; accordingly, 
my friend and I set off at a gallop, but we 
had scarcely gone a league when I observed 
Don Manuel, on a sudden, performing a somer- 
set in the air and his horse at a dead halt. 
The harlequinade of this movement caused me to 
laugh aloud, but I had no sooner enjoyed the 
joke, than I was compelled to play a similar game 
at leap-frog, with my own steed, which, in an in- 
stant, had stuck as fast as a rock in a biscacha 
hole and sent me over his head to a distance of 
three yards. As no bones were broken, we re- 
newed the laugh, but proceeded the rest of the 
way with much more circumspection. 

That night we slept at Rio Quint o, and the 
next morning, being the ninth day from our de- 
parture from Buenos Ayres, we arrived at the 
town called the punta of San Luis* 



70 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Punta de San Luis, ^^c. Population, The Tra- 
vesia, or Desert, River Desaguadero. South Ame- 
rican Fight, Arrival at Mendoza. Hospitality of 
the Inhabitants, S^c. 

The punta de San Luis contains about five thou- 
sand inhabitants;, and is the only place of the 
sHghtest importance in the whole journey between 
Buenos Ayres and Mendoza. The entrance to it 
is by no means prepossessing, being through long 
lanes with dead mud walls on both sides. The 
houses stand back, and it is not until you arrive at 
the square that there is any appearance of a po- 
pulation, and even then few people are to be seen. 
As usual, the principal church and the governor's 
house are in the square. The people are an ill- 
clad, dirty-looking set, and the whole place has 
the air of being poverty-stricken. We went to 
the governor who was in a poncho, smoking his 
cigar, and on shewing om' passports we got his 



THE PAMPAS. 



71 



ruhrica.''* The trade of the place consists prin- 
cipally in cattle and hides, and there are a few 
shops with European articles of dress, hardware, 
crockery, &c. San Luis abounds in fruit, peaches, 
grapes, melons, and figs; the principal food is 
beef and Indian corn. The inhabitants are not 
in advance of the Gauchos of the Pampas, in re- 
gard to dress and civilization, but I thought them 
better looking than those I had seen on the plains. 
I never beheld a whole community where the 
younger classes possessed such brilliant and well 
arranged teeth. Some of the young women are 
very handsome, their complexion is a ruddy olive, 
with a glow of health on their cheek, set off by a 
pair of jet black eyes. I found my heart in ra- 
ther a tender taking when I first looked at the 
postmaster's daughter. I never saw a countenance 
more symmetrically beautiful, her large languish- 
ing eyes appeared to emit streams of light, and 
the playful dimple on her chin rendered her gaze 
quite captivating; but alas! surgit amari all' 
quid',' her figure was by no means akin to her face. 



* Signature. 



72 



THE PAMPAS. 



being fat, squat, and awkward; and that virtue, 
described as next to godliness, had not marked 
her for its own. She was just sixteen years of 
age and was going to be married to a long gawky 
Gaucho. An hour after my arrival, I saw her 
seated with her intended at her father's door ; they 
were each smoking a paper cigar, and conversing 
with as much gravity as though they were already 
man and wife. The girls usually marry at the age of 
fourteen or fifteen, but before they are thirty, they 
have the appearance of old women, all withered, 
dry, and shrivelled. This in a great measure 
proceeds from the want of cleanliness, the dry- 
ness of the climate, and from their constantly 
poring over the smoke of wood fires, as they are 
all cooks alike, although it must be confessed that 
their dishes are of Beelzebub's own school. 

We remained, during that day, at San Luis, 
having the travesia, or desert, of twenty leagues, 
to cross on the following day, and it was neces- 
sary to start early to accomplish it in one day. 
In the evening, several of the inhabitants paid us 
a visit, and amongst them the postmaster's family. 



THE PAMPAS. 



73 



The young ladies sang and played on the guitar, 
and several couple danced the Indian dance of 
the country/' the movements of which are the re- 
verse of prudish. There was also a castanet 
dance, which pleased me. At the hour of eleven 
they retired, and left us to our meditations 
amongst the fleas, which, were I to judge from 
the avidity of their appetites that night, had been 
fasting for some time. In fact, I was so annoyed, 
that I could not sleep, so I arose and took a walk 
in the streets, which were quite desolate, and the 
only sound to be heard was the long howl of the 
dogs, serenading the moon. 

At daybreak, our cavalcade was ready for a 
move. We were to cross a sandy desert of sixty 
miles, where no water could be procured; conse- 
quently, we provided ourselves with that be- 
verage before we started, by filling our horns 
and bottles with it. About forty horses had been 
proeured : more than half were driven loose before 
us, and they served as relays during the journey. 
The day was extremely warm, and the fierce rays 
of the sun, combined with the dust, rendered this 



74 



THE PAMPAS. 



stage the most insupportable we had yet experi- 
enced. Part of this travesia is through a deep 
sand; there are a number of small stunted trees 
scattered over it^, which must be indebted to the 
deluges of summer for their existence, as it rarely 
rains in showers in this desolate plain. On account 
of the depth of the sand in some places, we were 
compelled to move slower than our ordinary pace, 
and the horses, as well as ourselves, were almost 
knocked up before we got half through our journey. 
In the middle of the day, the heat of the sun was so 
intense, that we felt it impossible to proceed for 
two hours, and sheltered ourselves, as well as we 
could, under the branches of some almost lifeless 
trees, until the heat had somewhat abated. ^ 

Those who have never felt the misery of a parch- 
ing thirst, when there is nothing at hand to slake 
it, can have a very imperfect idea of such a situa- 
tion. The water had been all consumed, without 
affording us refreshment, for the heat of the day 
had rendered it luke warm, before we had pro- 
ceeded three leagues. About four o'clock in 
the afternoon, we went on again ; as the evening 



THE PAMPAS. 



75 



coolness returned, we revived, and about nine 
o'clock, reached the post of the Desaguadero, 
which is close to a river of that name. Here we 
halted for the night, but it was a dreary place ; 
the wind was very high, and blew the dust and 
sand into our hut, which had neither a door nor a 
single article of furniture, and the mud floor was 
covered with beef bones, the decayed rind of 
water melons, and other filth. We procured a 
bullock's hide, and suspended it over the door 
way, and thus, in some measure, kept out the 
sand. That night I suffered extremely, for the 
water of the Desaguadero was brackish, and so 
muddy, that we were compelled to strain it through 
a muslin handkerchief, to render it at all drink- 
able, and even then the strong saline taste it left 
on the palate, rather increased than quenched my 
parching thirst. I was in a high fever during the 
whole night, and was thankful when I saw the 
first streaks of day on the horizon. Our retinue 
seemed more than usually upon the alert for our 
speedy departure from this purgatory, and we 
were soon again on the road, and reached, ere 



76 



THE PAMPAS. 



long, the banks of the river Desaguadero, which 
we passed on rafts; the carriage was drawn 
through the ford by the assistance of extra horses. 
The banks of this river are high, and of black 
mud; however, we crossed without accident, and 
landed on the opposite bank, which is in the pro- 
vince of Mendoza. The roads now became better, 
the horses finer, and the country more woody and 
flat; we travelled with great quickness, making 
twenty-five leagues this day, and slept at the Do- 
midas. The next morning, before we started, I had 
an opportunity of seeing a South American fight ; 
two of the Gauchos, belonging to our coach, had 
been disputing for some time, till high words be- 
gat blows ; in an instant, both their knives were 
drawn, and after a few manoeuvres, one of them 
passed his weapon into the neck of his adversary, 
within an ace of the jugular vein, and he fell 
hoi^s de combat. This accident was annoying on 
more accounts than one, for we could not procure 
another postilion. However, as the wound was 
not mortal, Don Manuel became responsible for 
the delinquent, and, after some time, we were 



THE PAMPAS. 



77 



again ready to proceed. We left our wounded 
jockey lying on a stretcher, moaning most dis- 
mally; I observed his adversary coolly strike a 
light, and smoke a cigar ; he did not seem at all 
disturbed by the event, which he treated as a 
matter of course, and mounting his horse, rode 
along, as if nothing particular had occurred. 
Stabbing seemed the order of the day, for, during 
the next stage, my unfortunate baggage horse 
having halted, and refusing to proceed, Don Mel- 
chor, the steward, in a rage, drew his knife, and 
killed the poor animal on the spot*. This de- 
tained us again, for we had to put the baggage 
and its packs addle into the coach, to carry them 
to the next post. We then got on without fur- 
ther accident, and reached the Retama, For the 
last two days, the Cordillera mountains were in full 

* I had to pay eight dollars, in Mendoza, for the loss 
of this horse, although, in strict justice, I could have 
objected ; but as Don Melchor, in other respects, had 
been very attentive to me, and was a jocose fellow, I 
paid the sum, " for," said he, " I killed the horse in 
your service, senor." 



78 



MENDOZA. 



view. The Retama is a delightful spot, and very 
fertile, abounding in all sorts of fruits and vege- 
tables, the country well irrigated with a%equias, 
and planted around with tall poplar trees, which 
had a most agreeable effect, after the tame and 
uninteresting scenery we had passed. We took 
some refreshment, and the siesta, and in the even- 
ing, about the vesper hour, drew up before the 
mansion of Don Manuel, situated in the centre of 
Mendoza. 

Were I to live to the age of a pelican, I could 
never forget sweet Mendoza; whether it be the 
air, the inhabitants, or the country around, or all 
of these combined, I know not, but there is an in- 
delible charm attached to that spot, which I shall 
retain whilst memory holds its seat." When I 
think of it, I am reminded 

— " Of youth's cheerful sports, of spring's glad hours. 
" Memory holds back my hand ; around my heart 
" She steals her light soft spells." 

I have since revisited this rural city twice, 
and never left it without reluctance and re- 



MENDOZA. 



79 



^ret. It stands embosomed among vineyards, 
at the foot of the grand chain of the Cordillera 
de los Andes. These gigantic range of moun- 
tains stretch north and south, far as the eye can 
reach, with their summits clad in a perpetual 
robe of vestal purity, sparkling all day in the 
bright radiance of an unclouded sky of the deep- 
est azure ; and in the starry night, presenting a 
dazzling v^hiteness, through the blue obscure, lit 
up, at seasons, by "the inconstant moon." A 
thousand mountain rills fertilize the plains be- 
neath, and the water, rushing through the a%e- 
quias in the streets and gardens of the city, with 
clearness and rapidity, 

— — " flung luxurious coolness round 
The air, and verdure o*er the ground." 

The residence of Don Manuel was one of 
the best in the city, with spacious courts, salas, 
and all the requisites of a handsome establish- 
ment. It was furnished with good taste, in the 
French and English style, and I may remark, that 



80 



MENDOZA. 



this gentleman, who had never been in Europe, 
was the only Creole I ever saw, who had all his 
establishment in true keeping, and regulated his 
household affairs on European fashion. 

Scarcely had the new^s spread of Don Manuel's 
arrival, than the sala was thronged with his 
friends, who came to congratulate him on his safe 
return. 

The tertulia was very numerous of both sexes, 
and the music and dancing commenced almost 
immediately, and the evening was spent in the 
greatest hilarity. Ices, creams, confectionary, 
sweetmeats, wines, and cordials, were handed 
round, and I was delighted to see the unaffected 
and friendly manner of the Mendozinas amongst 
themselves. A band w^as sent for, and played 
the welcome home until a late hour, when rela- 
tions, friends, and guests, retired to their several 
abodes. Don Manuel had invited me to remain 
at his house during my sojourn at Mendoza, and 
as I was a perfect stranger to the place, I ac- 
cepted the offer with pleasure. 

I was now ushered into a handsome apart- 



MENDOZA. 



81 



ment, containing a costly gilt bedstead, with 
a mosquito curtain; the sheets and pillow-cases 
were trimmed with broad Brussels' lace, according 
to Spanish custom, and the linen was of fine hol- 
land. What a difference to the accommodation 
I had met with in the dreary Pampas, sleeping 
upon a hard pallet, in smoky hovels, with cobwebs 
for curtains, and benchucas for bed-fellows. I 
was now lodged like a prince, and, drawing the 
mosquito curtains around me, soon fell into a most 
luxurious and undisturbed sleep, from which I 
was awakened, the next morning, by a pretty 
Mulatto girl, who entered the apartment, to ac- 
quaint me that breakfast was ready. 

Having performed my toilet, I was shown into 
the breakfast-room, where I found assembled Don 
Manuel, his lady, and daughter, and a young man, 
his nephew. The lady was a very handsome 
brunette, apparently not much more than twenty, 
certainly many years younger than her husband. 
The daughter was an only child, about seven 
years of age, and was the idol of both parents. 

The breakfast service was of fine French porce- 



82 



MEND0Z7\. 



lain, of a late fashion, and the refreshments con- 
sisted of coffee, tea, and chocolate, with the more 
substantial dishes of fowls and rice, beef-steaks, 
and eggs, also fruit and wine. I was charmed 
with the affability of this family ; their unaffected 
hospitality made me feel myself quite at home. 
After breakfast, Don Manuel made an engage- 
ment to ride out with me in the evening, and I 
then returned to my apartment, as the sun was 
very powerful out of doors. 

I was seated writing, with my back to the 
door, when I heard an English voice exclaim, 
"How do you feel after your journey?'' The 
sound of my native tongue startled me almost as 
much as the foot-print did Robinson Crusoe, and 
turning round, I perceived my friend, Mr. John 
Robinson, who had left Buenos Ay res a few days 
before me, for Chile, and whom I concluded was 
then " over the hills and far away." The unex- 
pected pleasure of meeting this gentleman, under 
present circumstances, may be well imagined. 
He told me that he had purposely delayed his 
journey, knowing that I was coming, in order 



MENDOZA. 



83 



that we might have the satisfaction of travelling 
over the dreary mountains in company. He 
said that he was residing with an Englishman, 
the only one in the place. He was a Yorkshire- 
man, of the name of Appleby, was married to a 
Mendozina, and had been many years in South 
America. Messrs. Robinson and Appleby joined 
our party at dinner, which was sumptuous, served 
up in handsome style, and composed of more 
dishes than I can remember; the Spanish olio, 
however, made an impression upon me, as it was 
the best I had seen, and I thought it excellent. 
After coffee, our horses were brought into the 
court-yard, or patio, and we rode to view the out- 
skirts of the town. I was struck with the beauty 
and spirit of the Mendozino horses. Mr. Ap- 
pleby was an excellent horseman, and was, by the 
natives, called the Gaucho Ingles," in honour of 
his equestrian accomplishments. They look upon 
every foreigner, who does not sit and ride a horse 
well, with the utmost contempt, and say he must 
have been a " homhre haxo" or one of the canaille 
in his own country. We called upon a brother 

G 2 



84 



MENDOZA. 



of Don Manuel's, who resided close to the city ; 
he was an hacendddo, or farmer, and his estate 
w^as very extensive. He joined us in our ride, 
and as he was also a good jockey, and kept fine 
horses, Mr. Appleby and he rode a race A la 
Gaucho" which deserves remark. The races are 
a very short distance, not above two hundred and 
fifty yards ; the horses stand close together, and 
on the word " Cha " being uttered, they spring 
forward, and are instantly at full speed. It is 
curious to see the horses gathering their feet to- 
gether, preparing for the signal to start, and 
never moving till it is given. It requires some 
practice to keep a firm seat. The races are ge- 
nerally run in a straight line, but sometimes the 
agreement is to turn at a certain distance and 
come back to the starting point ; a horse that can 
wheel round quickly, has then a great advantage. 

As we returned home, I observed that the 
scenery of Mendoza is principally vineyards and 
orchards, and the site of the town is very con- 
siderable, as a vineyard, orchard, and garden, 
are actually attached to almost every house in the 



MENDOZA. 



85 



town. In the evening, the tertulia was repeated 
at Don Manuel's. The next day we were invited 
to a grand ball, given by his brother ; and here, 
for the first time, I beheld all the most respect- 
able inhabitants in full dress, which is not the case 
when merely at a tertulia. The ball was conducted 
with much etiquette. The ladies, most of them 
very pretty, were seated round the room in 
rows. The gentlemen standing in the centre, or 
else conversing with them. The dancing com- 
menced with minuets, then followed waltzes, the 
Spanish dance, and some of the country dances, 
but the positions were rather more delicate and 
refined than those exhibited to us by our friends in 
San Luis. After dancing for several hours, supper 
was announced, and the ladies led the way into 
an adjoining room, where an elegant banquet was 
prepared ; viands, confectionery, and fine fruit in 
abundance. The ladies being seated, several 
of the carvers, or stewards, were allowed the same 
privilege, and the rest of the gentlemen remained 
standing at the backs of the ladies' chairs. Occa- 
sionally one might be seen whispering soft non- 



86 



MENDOZA. 



sense into his enamorata's ear, whilst another, 
perhaps less sentimental, was receiving food more 
solid than ambrosia, from the point of his dulci- 
nea's fork. The South Americans are very fond 
of toasting"," which they call ^' hrinde,'' and 
some have a great facility of giving these toasts 
in verse, d la impromsatore. After very many 
patriotic toasts, such as ^'^ La Patria," " Liberty," 
" Equality," and " the Rights of Man," &c. dancing 
recommenced, and continued until the company 
could keep it up no longer, when the entertain- 
ment concluded, and home we went. 

In this manner I spent a week amidst a con- 
tinual round of diversions, provided for me by the 
amiable inliabitants of this delightful city, danc- 
ing, aiding, shooting, and walking ; sometimes 
promenading in the Alameda, with lovely women, 
at others seated in a temple of Grecian architec- 
ture, at the end of the walk, enjoying ices and 
the delightful evening breezes as they stole down 
the lofty sides of the snowy Cordilleras. Howe- 
ver, I began to think that, should I remain here 
much longer, Mendoza would prove my Capua; 



MENDOZA. 



87 



and I also felt desirous to depart, as several weeks 
had elapsed since the sailing of my vessel for Val- 
paraiso, and I was anxious to anticipate her ar- 
rival in Chile. The winter snow, however, still lay- 
deep in the track we were to pass, and as it would 
be necessary, at one point of the journey, to tra- 
vel on foot for many a weary league, Robinson 
and myself engaged a muleteer, at the price of 
one hundred and twenty dollars, to convey us 
and our luggage across the mountains to San- 
tiago de Chile, but he required three days to pre- 
pare all the requisites for the journey. 

The population of Mendoza and its immediate 
neighbourhood is calculated at twenty thousand. 
Their trade is chiefly in wine and dried fruits, 
which they export to Buenos Ayres, Tucuman, 
Salta, and the Banda Oriental. They import 
all sorts of European manufactured goods, from 
Buenos Ayres, which is their direct channel of 
supply; but, in times of civil war, when this road 
has been infested with marauders, they have re- 
ceived their supplies from Chile. 



88 



CHAPTER V. 

Departure from Mendoza. Journey across the Cordil- 
lera in the Winter Season, Anecdotes, Overtaken 
by a Snow Storm, and forced to seek Shelter in a 
Casucha, 

The arriero, or muleteer, having, according to ap- 
pointment, prepared the cattle and forage for the 
journey, on the tenth evening from my arrival, 
Robinson and myself bade farewell to our kind- 
hearted friends, and to the hospitality and plea- 
sures of Mendoza. We proceeded, after sun-set, 
a league out of the town, to be prepared for an 
early start on the following morning, as we had a 
sandy plain to cross which it was necessary to ac- 
complish before the heat of noon. 

Our cavalcade consisted of Robinson and 
myself, the chief muleteer, three others, (his 
assistants,) and twenty-five mules, including 
relays; the mules were loaded with a large 



MENDOZA. 



89 



stock of provisions, with forage, and copper 
utensils for boiling water. Our stock of pro- 
visions, for the Cordilleras, consisted chiefly of 
jerked beef, called charque; we had also hams, 
tongues, and, for the first two or three days, 
fowls and fresh beef, with a load of onions, which 
are indispensable in the mountains as they ren- 
der the traveller long-winded. Don Manuel had 
made us a present of two small kegs of Mendoza 
wine, white and red, which were of excellent fla- 
vour and body ; it is considered very dangerous 
to take spirits in the Cordillera. I have been thus 
minute for the benefit of such as may in future 
have to cross these mountains in the winter sea- 
son ; and I would always recommend the taking 
a seemingly superfluous quantity of provisions, 
in case of accidents which may sometimes detain 
the traveller much longer than might be antici- 
pated. We slept at the house of the arriero, 
and as soon as day dawned each man hied him to 
his charge. The loads having been properly ba- 
lanced upon the sheep-skin pack-saddles, and the 
whole party mounted, we set off* across the plain 
in single file. 



90 



VILLAVICENCIO. 



This was my first day's journey on a mule, and 
as the animal was a high trotter, my ride was any 
thing but agreeable; however, in the course of an 
hour, as the sand became deeper, the pace fell into 
a walk which continued the rest of the day. This 
ride is very sultry, and the sand being strongly 
impregnated with saltpetre, the dust causes a 
parching thirst which water does not allay ; about 
two we had passed the plain, and stopped an hour 
to refresh. We then entered into the lower de- 
files of the mountains which are almost destitute 
of vegetation ; a few stunted shrubs and the opun- 
tia are thinly scattered over the sides. About sun- 
set, we arrived at Villavicencio, which is the first 
stage from Mendoza, and distant about fifteen 
leagues. 

Villavicencio is situated in a deep defile, shut 
in on every side by high mountains, which in 
themselves appear to be the great chain. The 
accommodations, if such they may be called, are 
wretched beyond description ; a few hovels, built 
of loose stones, scarcely three feet high, and 
roofed with dried weeds, form all the shelter. 



THE PARAMILLO. 



91 



Only two or three families live here^ but in the 
summer season people come from Mendoza to 
some medicinal baths which are close in the neigh- 
bourhood ; I was, however, too late to visit them. 
We kindled a large fire, and I preferred, this 
night, bivouacking in the open air, to creeping 
into a house the size of a beaver's lodge ; indeed 
I found this more agreeable, during the rest of 
the journey, than sleeping either in the filthy 
casuchas, or under such covers. 

At daybreak we recommenced our march, which 
was up a steep, rocky ascent, with a mountain- 
stream in the centre, through which our mules 
waded, and, after a tiresome ride of an hour, we 
reached the summit of the Paramillo. 

Here the magnificent Andes again burst forth 
upon our view, apparently at a greater distance 
than ever; and although the mountain, upon 
which we stood, was one of considerable elevation, 
it appeared a mole-hill in comparison to the 
mighty chain before us. We now plainly per- 
ceived what sort of difficulties we had to en- 
counter. 



92 



THE PARAMILLO. 



On the Paramillo we saw numerous troops of 
guanacos, which the winter always drives to the 
valleys and lower hills ; groups of them, after 
staring at us for a moment, betook themselves to 
flight with the speed of the wind. The condors 
were sailing aloft with unruffled pinion ; the flight 
of these birds is frequently so high that they are 
almost lost to sight. After passing the Paramillo, 
we descended into the plain of Uspallata, the 
last habitable vale on the eastern side of the 
mountains. 

This plain contains pasture for horses, sheep, 
and cattle ; about four hundred of the latter are 
kept here, but the population barely exceeds half 
a dozen families. Some celebrated silver mines 
are in the neighbourhood, and, on the road, we 
had passed several hocas de minas *. I dismounted 
and penetrated some distance into one of the 
mines which had been worked, and was surprised 
at the possibility of a human being finding room 
to labour in so confined a space. These mines 



* Entrances to the mines. 



USPALLATA. 



93 



are like labyrinths, for the Indian, with his rude 
implements, follows the sinuosities of the silver 
veins with an intuitive intelligence which proves 
that he understands these matters much better 
than his more theoretical and learned white bre- 
thren of Europe. 

Uspallata has three or four houses and a 
church, but is most ruinous in appearance. Here 
a guard is kept, by the government of Mendoza, 
to prevent a contraband trade being carried on 
across the mountains, as well as to arrest deserters 
or suspicious characters without passports, either 
coming or going to Chile. This guard consists 
of a corporal and four soldiers, clad in ponchos, 
and their naked feet protected with sandals. We 
lighted a fire in an empty corral, as I preferred 
sleeping there to entering the house. On the fol- 
lowing morning, we were again on the move, and 
bade adieu to the last human habitation in the 
Cordillera. Proceeding over the plain, we ar- 
rived at what appeared to have been the bed of 
some mighty river, two leagues in breadth, but 
the channel of which was dry ; the scenery around 



94 



USPALLATA. 



was of the most friglitful and chaotic nature, not 
a vestige of vegetation to be seen ; the rocks and 
hills around were brown and bare, and heaped to- 
gether in such a confusion of sliPtpes, that they 
looked like the ruins of a past world* 

We now crossed a torrent, and as our road lay 
along the side of a steep and almost perpendicular 
mountain, with a rapid river, of a reddish co- 
lour, brawling through the valley on the left, and 
a corresponding high mountain running parallel 
on the opposite side ; part of the road along this 
mountain was cut in the time of the Spaniards. 
There was a rock, of many tons weight, which I 
observed at the edge of the path, with a small 
wooden cross upon it, and a name rudely carved 
on the side of the rock, now half obliterated. On 
inquiring the cause, I was told that the body of a 
man, who was one day working at the road, lay 
underneath this stone; it had become loosened 
from the cliff by an earthquake, fell exactly where 
it then stood, crushing the unfortunate victim be- 
neath it, who may be said, at the self-same mo- 
ment to have found his grave and monument." 



USPALLATA. 



95 



This road, on the mountain side, extends for 
twenty leagues, as far as the Punta de las Vacas. 
The pace of the mules was a walk, and the guide 
appeared to be very fearful of tiring them; we 
consequently made but slow progress, and halted, 
long before sunset, beside a silver streamlet, which 
poured from the mountains, and joined the red 
river Vacas. This spot was about ten leagues 
from Uspallata, and was chosen, on account of 
there being good pasture for the mules close at 
hand. Accordingly we bivouacked, and lighting 
our fire, commenced our culinary preparations. 

The muleteers made a dish called haldimam^ 
consisting of char que, or jerked beef, pounded be- 
tween two stones, and placed in a wooden bowl, 
' with slices of raw onions, and boiling water 
poured over it; a little maize, or Indian corn 
ground, and stirred up in a horn with cold water, 
matte, and tobacco, complete the muleteers' food 
and luxuries. Charque, when well cured, is very 
good and palatable. After our meal, we pre- 
pared to take our night's rest, and the mules were 
driven up a narrow ravine, where Manzillo (our 



96 



THE CORDILLERA. 



head muleteer) said there was good pasturage. 
One of the men was left at the entrance to guard 
the pass^ and we composed ourselves to sleep. 

On awakening early^ I found every one in the 
greatest state of consternation. It appeared the 
mules had made their escape during the night, 
and were no where to be seen; this accident was 
caused by the muleteers having made free with 
one of our kegs of wine, and he, who had been 
placed on guard, having taken his share, had fallen 
into a stupor, so that the mules had evidently 
passed him, while he was in that state, and had 
taken French leave of absence during the night. 
The muleteer said that the animals would return 
to Uspallata, where the pasturage was good ; con- 
sequently, the whole party proceeded thither, in 
search of them, on foot, and my friend Robinson 
and myself were left alone in the mountains with 
the baggage and provisions. We had hopes that 
the mules had not strayed far, and that they would 
be brought back before night ; but the night came 
and passed, and the next day also, without any 
signs of either men or mules. To amuse our- 



THE CORDILLERA. 



97 



selves^ and beguile the hours, it was our plan, al- 
ternately, to take the gun, and go in quest of 
guanacos, of which there were great numbers on 
the narrow shelves of the mountain, whilst the 
other remained by the baggage and provisions, to 
protect the latter against the voracity of the con- 
dors, which were constantly sailing above, as if 
waiting an opportunity to pounce upon our 
stock. 

On the second day, it was my turn to be guard, 
my companion having gone on the hunt; he was 
to have returned by two o'clock to dinner, but 
that hour passed, and the next, and the next, and 
with still no appearance of Robinson, and I began 
to feel anxious for his fate. Strange thoughts 
rushed upon my mind ; and it occurred to me 
that my friend had perished, either by falling off 
some clilF, or had been carried away by a moun- 
tain torrent, and that, as the sky was gloomy, and 
indicated a storm, that my guides would return 
no more, (especially as they had received half the 
money previous to leaving Mendoza,) and that it 
would therefore be my fate to encounter alone a 

H 



98 



THE CORDILLERA. 



lingering death in these horrible solitudes. The 
low moaning of the wind, the darkness of the sky, 
the shrieks of the condor, and the rushing of the 
mountain river, all concurred to give additional 
gloom to the scene, and struck me as the dismal 
forbo dings of the coming storm which was to 
overwhelm me. Uspallata was ten leagues dis- 
tant, and it would have been impossible for me 
to have found my way thither, as I had neither 
pocket-compass nor chart. My philosophy could 
bear it no longer, and I arose and walked about 
in a state of feeling far from enviable, until at 
length my eyes were gladdened, by perceiving 
the form of my friend Robinson, approaching at a 
distance among the rocks. He was equally over- 
joyed at having again made our bivouac, as he 
had lost himself for some time, whilst in pursuit of 
a guanaco *. That night, too, our muleteers came 
back with the cattle; one mule only having been 

* The guanaco is something like the llama, or South 
American camel, but it is a fiercer animal, and is too 
intractable to be made a beast of burden. 



THE CORDILLERA. 



99 



lost. They had been obliged to return as far as 
Uspallata^ before they discovered the wanderers. 

We recommenced our journey at daylight, and 
proceeded with more speed than before, to make 
up for lost time. The road, as far as the Punta 
^ de las Vacas, a distance of twenty leagues, runs 
along the breast of a mountain; a deep and 
broad valley lies below, and in many places the 
frightful height of the precipices, when beheld from 
some of the abrupt turnings in the road, or from 
the narrow laderas, or shelves, almost causes the 
head to swim. Indeed, some people have not the 
courage to look down, and I know natives of the 
country who have been carried along some of the 
narrow laderas by the muleteers, secured by lassoes. 
Sometimes the mule and his rider appear actually 
hung in the air, when seen at a distance upon one 
of these narrow ledges of the rocks. The natural 
inclination of the traveller is to keep as close to 
the side of the mountain as possible, but his ob- 
stinate bearer is not of the same opinion, and 
always walks so pertinaciously at the extreme 
verge of the cliff, that one of the rider's legs is 

H 2 



100 



THE CORDILLERA. 



actually dangling over the abyss beneath. This 
caution of the mule proceeds from habit, from his 
being sometimes loaded with cargoes which pro- 
ject from his pack-saddle, and which he then 
dreads striking against the points of the rock, and 
throwing him off his equilibrium. A mule is the 
best guide for a man in the mountains, and I 
should always recommend the traveller, in case of 
danger, to abandon his own opinion for the in- 
stinct of this intelligent brute. In some cases, 
by disregarding it, both rider and mule have been 
precipitated to the vale below, and have perished. 
We saw numerous bones of animals lying on the 
river banks ; the poor beasts had probably fallen 
with their cargoes, which it had been impossible 
to recover; many are carried down the stream, 
and it is said that two serous of doubloons were 
once lost in this river. Immense masses of rock 
are also to be seen along the river banks; these 
have fallen from the mountain's side during earth- 
quakes. It is very picturesque to see the long 
line of march, extending in single file along the 
mountain side, and winding up and down, accord- 
ing as the road may incline. 



THE CORDILLERA. 



101 



Nothing can have a greater tendency to ele- 
vate the soul to the contemplation of the power 
of the Deity than the prospect presented to the 
traveller in the midst of the lonely Andes. The 
still grandeur and magnitude of the scenery, far 
beyond the regions of vegetation, — the sublime so- 
litude of the situation, so high above the petty 
bustle of the plains beneath, and where the hu- 
man figure, in comparison to the objects around, 
is but an atom, — all these lead the mind to vene- 
rate the Almighty power that formed such won- 
drous works, and impress man with a sense of his 
own insignificance. 

" Not vainly did the early Persian make 
His altar the high places and the peak 
" Of earth o'er gazing mountains, and thus take 
" A fit and unwall'd temple, there to seek 

The Spirit, in whose honour shrines are weak, 
" Uprear'd of human hands. Come, and compare 
" Columns or idol-dwellings, Goth or Greek, 
" With Nature's realms of worship, earth, and air. 
Nor fix on fond abodes to circumscribe thy pray'r ! " 



102 



THE CORDILLERA. 



I could here well conceive the feeling of the noble 
bard^ when he wrote the above beautiful lines. 

We had proceeded on our aerial journey for 
many leagues^ without the least accident^ in pass- 
ing the laderas;, until we arrived at the Punta de 
las Vacas, and having forded a river of that name, 
we debouched from the valley, and got into an 
open country, where the snow reached close to 
the mountain's base. At the Vacas, the first ca- 
sucha is built; these casuchas are a chain of huts, 
nine in number, five on the eastern and four on 
the western side. They were built at the expense 
of the Spanish government, and have contributed 
to the salvation of hundreds of muleteers and tra- 
vellers, whose lot it has been to pass these regions 
in the winter season *. The snow storms come on 
so suddenly, that notwithstanding the casuchas 
are not above two leagues apart, in the most dan- 
gerous parts of the mountains, travellers are 

* The winter se^^son commences in July, and termi- 
nates in November, during which months the Cordillera 
is impassable for mules. 



THE CORDILLERA. 



103 



frequently blinded by the whirlwind, and over- 
whelmed in the snows, before they can reach one 
of these havens of safety. 

Many were the rude wooden crosses we saw on 
the road side, erected in memory of the unfortu- 
nates who had perished prematurely in the snow- 
storms. The natives never pass one of them with- 
out crossing themselves, and reciting a short 
prayer. The prayer is for the repose of the soul 
and its emancipation from purgatory, for they be- 
lieve that a given number of prayers will have the 
desired end, according to the virtue or vice of 
the party when alive. 

On the third day after the capture of our 
mules, we gained the foot of the Cumhre, the 
summit of which is the highest point ridge we 
had to cross, and is the boundary between Men- 
doza and Chile. The weather had looked very 
lowering for some days, and we only saw the sun 
at intervals. The sky, according to the mule- 
teer's prediction, indicated a storm, and it was our 
intention to cross, if possible, to the Chile side, 
previous to its descent. It was, however, late in 



104 



THE CORDILLERA. 



the evening when we arrived at the foot of the 
Cumbre, and our mules were too fatigued to 
ascend the mountain, without rest, so we were 
compelled to halt until next morning. We slept 
on the ground in the open air. 

A night fatal to our comfort ensued, for the 
storm began about midnight, and on awakening, 
we found ourselves covered three inches deep in 
snow. The whole face of the country was one 
sheet of white, and the flakes beginning to thicken 
and whirl around, rendered it impossible to pro- 
ceed. The casucha was within five hundred yards 
of our bivouac, and we were forced to betake 
ourselves to it for safety. 

In walking up this hill, I was afflicted, for the 
first time, with the puna,, or soroche. The puna 
is a malady peculiar, I believe, to high mountains, 
and is a consequence of the extreme rarefraction 
of the air, which renders it difficult to breathe. I 
was obliged to lie down three times before I 
gained the top of the hill, and felt this shortness 
of breath with a most painful oppression on the 
chest, and a sensation of sickness. The puna 



THE CORDILLERA. 



105 



sometimes affects individuals to such a degree^, 
that the blood gushes from their mouths and nos- 
trils. NoW;, indeed, our sufferings commenced in 
good earnest, the mules were all turned adrift, to 
seek shelter where they could, which they gene- 
rally do under the lee of some hill or rock. Our 
cargoes were left below, covered with hides, and 
we then all sheltered ourselves in the interior of 
the casucha. 

The casucha is built of brick, with"; a vaulted 
roof of great strength, describing a Gothic arch 
in the interior; but, on the outside, the roof is 
shelving to prevent the snow from resting upon 
it, as, after a certain weight, it glides off at 
each side. The building is about fourteen feet 
square, but affords no other accommodation than 
the black bare walls. Formerly the Spanish go- 
vernment used to have provisions and wood placed 
in these huts, and they were each secured with a 
door and window shutter ; both of these, however, 
had been consumed for firing, and the govern- 
ment had discontinued the supplies of food, as the 
practice did not answer, for the muleteers failed 



106 



THE CORDILLERA. 



to supply themselves^ and relied upon the plunder 
of the casuchas. 

Our own provisions had fallen short, on account 
of the delay we had experienced in the journey, 
and the appearance of the weather indicated that 
the temporale, as these storms are called, would 
be of some duration. 

We made a fire in the middle of the hut, with 
the woQd we had brought with us ; the smoke es- 
caping at the door-way and windov\^s, and also at 
several loop-holes made in the walls. Before the 
close of the day, our cabin was filled mth strange 
muleteers who kept constantly arriving, and before 
dark I counted twenty-two persons in the hut. At 
night our fire was suffered to go out, for our wood 
being scarce we wished to preserve it for cooking ; 
and a hide and blanket having been substituted 
for a door and window-shutter, we were soon left 
in total darkness, with scarcely room to stretch 
our limbs. For my own part, I wi'apped myself in 
my cloak and inclined my back against the wall ; 
but I could not sleep in so uncomfortable a posi- 
tion ; and several times, during the night, I had to 



THE CORDILLERA. 



107 



remove the head of one of my neighbours who 
had by mistake made a pillow of my legs. In 
fact, we were so thronged that there was not an 
inch of ground vacant^ yet it was, notwithstand- 
ing, bitterly cold. Dismal and dreary did the 
night roll over, whilst the howling of the storm 
without gave us no hopes of being speedily eman- 
cipated; and it is hardly possible for one who 
has not experienced such a miserable situation, to 
conceive the various emotions which such a pros- 
pect must create in the breast of the boldest and 
most practised traveller. 

The fact of many persons having, at times, pe- 
rished in these huts, from cold and hunger, was 
of itself sufficient to render us uneasy; and the 
crosses on the wall plainly shewed that their 
number v/as far from small. When day dawned 
the storm had rather increased ; we all stood up 
to allow room for a fire to be made, and cooked 
haldimano (charque and onions,) which was the 
only food left us. 

To prevent any fresh accident with our wine^ 
Robinson and myself had filled our chifles, or 



108 



THE CORDILLERA. 



horns^ which we carried on our saddles, from the 
remaining barrel, and had thrown it with the rest 
of its contents into the river; so that om' stock 
of this valuable liquor was very slender. Early 
on the second morning a man made his appear- 
ance at the door of the hut, and uttered a faint 
cry to be taken in. He was so benumbed with 
cold, that several muleteers descended the steps 
to lift him into the hut; he was laid on the floor 
to all appearances in the act of expiring. We 
mulled what remaining wine was left, and gave it 
to him, which had the desired effect, and restored 
him in the course of a few hours. 

Our wood was all burnt, and we were reduced 
to raw charque and biscuit; our only beverage 
was water, wdiich was procured from a spring a few 
yards from the casucha. I afterwards observed 
there was always water close to these mountain 
vaults. The storm continued unabated, and the 
snow, accumulating fast on the top of the hut, at 
times fell in masses with a deadened sound, from 
each side of the shelving roof ; the muleteers, how- 
ever, amused themselves by singing and telling 



THE CORDILLERA. 109 

stories of mountain-hobgoblins and ghosts, but, 
as there were no signs of the storm decreasing, 
towards evening they began to be quieter. About 
the hour of oragion, they all knelt down and re- 
cited their vesper prayers. 

Another horrible sleepless night succeeded, and 
the prospect before us became every moment 
more miserable ; our provisions were almost gone, 
and there was no chance of replenishing them, for 
our mules had strayed away ; and should the storm 
continue a few days longer, our fate would be 
truly deplorable. This appeared in the face of 
every one, and a selfish feeling took possession 
of each individual; there was a gloomy silence 
on this day far different to the preceding, and 
each was apparently occupied in contemplating 
his own impending fate. I must confess that, 
after frequently closing my eyes in a reverie, upon 
opening them, and perceiving the strange objects 
around me, I could hardly conceive the reality of 
my being in such a situation. The muleteers 
seated on the ground or standing against the 
dark walls of the hut, with their small eyes peer- 



110 



THE CORDILLERA. 



ing through their black and matted elf-locks, and 
the certainty of starvation before us, should the 
storm not abate very soon, — all seemed to me to 
give the hut the appearance of a place of punish- 
ment, where, for some sin or sorrow, I was cast, 
and I could not help contemplating how very un- 
satisfactory it would be to perish in such an un- 
known and miserable situation. 

Another long, cold, and boisterous night passed 
away» 



Ill 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Storm abates. Ascent of the Cumbre. The Val- 
lies of Chile. /Iconcagua. Chacabuco. Arrival at 
Santiago. General San Martin. Grand Fete, %c. 

Viva la Patria, shouted the muleteers, the 
next morning, when they observed the sun gild- 
ing the pinnacles of the mountains. We v>^ere on 
our feet in an instant, without the trouble of a 
toilet, for we had not had our cloaks off, during 
our stay in this mountain dungeon. The storm 
was over, not a cloud was to be seen ; the day was 
clear and cold, and the bustle of preparation for 
our departure commenced. Several of the party 
went in search of the mules, and in about two 
hours, the poor things made their appearance, 
quite dejected and hungry, with their ears and 
necks tipped with snow, and looking so implor- 
ingly in our eyes for food, that it was impossible 



112 



THE CORDILLERA. 



not to sympathize with their condition; they 
had been found under some rocks, all huddled in 
a heap, to keep themselves warm. The scanty 
moss around served them to browse upon, but it 
was not sufficient to satisfy their hunger. 

About eleven o'clock our preparations for a 
march were completed; we had taken off our 
English boots, for which we had substituted snow- 
shoes, for the purpose of walking. These shoes 
are composed of sheep-skin, tied closely round 
the foot and ancle, and protected at the sole by 
a sandal, or a piece of thick tough hide, which is 
brought round and braced across the instep by 
thongs. Our guides also wrapped pellones and 
sheep-skins around us, which serve to prevent any 
injury from the numerous tumbles, that are the 
inevitable fate of every one who travels through 
the yet untrodden snow. Thus accoutered, we 
looked like a party of Laplanders, and, mounting 
our beasts, we began our ascent to the Cumbre, or 
the mountain-top. It was the steepest and long- 
est acclivity we had yet experienced, and wound 
along by a road, with sharp zig-zag turnings, in 



THE CORDILLERA. 



113 



some places so steep, that it appears miraculous 
how a mule could retain his footing on the moun- 
tain side. After a long hour, we succeeded in 
reaching the summit of our journey. Although 
this was the lowest point of the great chain, the 
Cumbre is calculated at thirteen thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. Many leagues to the 
south, Tupungato rears his haughty peak, and is 
little inferior to Chimbora%o in altitude. 

As we ascended, the sun's rays lay warm on the 
mountain's side, and we were protected from the 
wind, but, on reaching the top, a keen cutting 
blast met us, and seemed to pierce us through, 
notwithstanding we were well protected by ponchos 
and cloaks. Our faces we wrapped up in shawls, 
the only part of them that was visible being the 
eyes and nose. We now looked down into the val- 
leys of Chile, but could only descry a wild waste 
of snow and clouds beneath us, the distance being 
lost in mist. The crosses at the top of the moun- 
tain were very numerous, and indeed too many of 
these memorials were to be seen all the way up, 
recording the spot where some unfortunate had 

I 



114 



THE CORDILLERA. 



untimely perished in these high regions^ whose 
only dirge had been the condor's hungry shriek, 
and all that remained, when found in the spring, 
was his skeleton, stretched out and bleaching 
in the northern blast." 

A large lake lay on our right, enclosed amongst 
the mountains : this extensive sheet of water, above 
the clouds, had a very singular appearance. 

The snow upon the Chile side of the mountain 
is deeper than on the other, and our mules coidd 
proceed no further, we therefore dismounted to 
walk into the valley. One of the peons was sent 
back to Mendoza with the mules, and our trunks 
being secured by lassoes, the muleteers dragged 
them down the hill. We had each been provided 
with a staff as long as Prospero's w^and, which 
served to keep us steady and to probe our way \^dth; 
and we, therefore, to the number of fifteen (in- 
cluding some of our friends of the casucha,) com- 
menced our march up to the middle in snow. It 
was not long before I perceived the necessity of 
the sheep-skins, in which we were swathed, for 
the tumbles we got w^ere incessant; the path 



THE CORDILLERA. 



115 



being completely invisible, we sometimes lost our 
footing, and fell a distance of eight or ten feet, 
whilst at others we got a slide of as many yards. 
However, the whole party were in high spirits, 
and made the hills echo with their shouts and 
songs. I had an altercation in the morning with 
my guide, (who was a very surly fellow,) about a 
mule which I had selected for my own riding, 
and which I would not allow him to take from 
me. He had, therefore, conceived a pique against 
me, and we had not been long on foot, when he 
came behind me, and thrusting his pole against 
my back, which was fortunately protected by a 
pell on, threw me some distance, and I fell with 
my face in the snow, upon which he grinned and 
called it a joke. I did not happen to be in a very 
playful mood after what I had gone through, and 
knowing this was done from spite, I concealed 
my resentment ; but, at a later period in the day, 
observing him to stand at the edge of a small 
ravine, I discharged him therefrom with a kick, 
accompanied by a sharp stroke with my staff 
across his shoulders, which tumbled him like a 

I 2 



116 



THE CORDILLERA. 



ball^ about ten feet down, where he for some time 
lay floundering, in a thick wreath of snow, to the 
great diversion of his myrmidons, over whom he 
was a consummate tyrant, and who shewed their 
teeth like laughing hyaenas, at this sudden over- 
throw of their " head of affairs." He did not 
appear to wish for a renewal of such gambols, but 
kept the remainder of the day at a most respect- 
ful distance. 

It was sunset when we reached the casuchas of 
Calaveras, but we had not then got out of the 
regions of snow. A courier had been despatched 
from Mendoza, across the mountains, to provide 
mules in Chile, which were to await us at the line 
where the snow terminated. We now met this 
mountain Mercury, but the mules had been left 
in the valley of Ojos de Agua, to pasture for 
the night. A Chileno muleteer was his compa- 
nion ; they had brought tw^o kids with them, which 
were barely roasted before we laid hands upon 
them, for our hunger would not allow us to wait 
for the dinner service, and I never made a more 
delicious repast. We had had nothing that morn- 



THE CORDILLERA. 



117 



ing except a few crumbs scraped from om- bis- 
cuit-bag, and moistening our mouths with snow. 
This evening the beams of the clear cold moon 
fell in a flood of light upon the mountain's side, 
which, being covered to its base with snow, had 
a most dazzling and beautiful effect. After our 
repast we went into a casucha (the Calaveras,) 
to sleep, being much fatigued at our novel 
mode of travelling. In one of the falls I had, 
I struck my foot against the sharp edge of a rock, 
and cut it severely : on my arrival at the Cala- 
veras, I found it covered with blood, and, in 
order to draw out the frost, I placed my foot in a 
lump of snow, which will always have that desira- 
ble effect. 

In the morning, our fresh mules w^ere brought 
up to the door, and having again recruited our 
system with some beef, we dispensed with our 
mountain costume of sheep-skins and snow- 
shoes, and rode down the valley; the snow was 
still on the ground, but quite practicable for 
the mules. The constant reflection of the sun on 
the snow, during the preceding day, had nearly 



118 



THE CORDILLERA. 



blinded us, our lips were of a blue colour, and 
swollen with cold to " twice their usual size, and 
when we attempted to speak, the blood streamed 
from them. 

These are almost the certain elFects of passing 
the Cordillera in winter, and I have known some 
people to remain partially blind for a week after- 
wards. 

We now got down to the Ojos de Agiia, which 
is the last casucha on the Chile side, and here our 
eyes were gladdened by the freshness of the grow- 
ing verdure. A beautiful stream of clear water ran 
down the mountain side, and here widened into a 
small river. The transition from the bleak waste 
of snow to this valley was delightful, and as our 
mules were excellent, we rode at a long trot. 
The change of scene had a revivifying effect upon 
our troop; the trees were beginning to put forth 
their leaves and blossoms, and the banks of the 
waters, as well as the hill sides, were covered with 
wild flowers. Our road lay along a river of con- 
siderable size to the left, which had its main branch 
from the Ojos de Agua, and was joined by innu- 



THE CORDILLERA. 



119 



merable rills from the two mountains on either 
side. Some of these slender streamlets gushed 
from a height of two hundred feet, and shone in 
the sun like silver. The fantastic appearance of 
the high over-hanging cliffs, on both sides of the 
valley, had a very picturesque effect; several of 
these rocks, at a distance, have the appearance of 
some gigantic enchanted castle, as described in 
oriental romance. 

We now approached a deep defile, 

" or glen, 

" Where scattered lay the bones of men." 

On inquiring what was the cause of the number 
of human bones lying around, we were informed 
that, in the early part of the year, a sharp affair 
had taken place in this pass, where a detachment 
of San Martin's army, under Colonel Martinez, 
had defeated the guard of Spaniards left to pro- 
tect it, and that the bones in question were those 
of the Godos, or Goths, (for so the Spaniards 
are called,) who had been killed in the battle. 



120 



THE CORDILLERA. 



their bodies having been left to feed the maws 
of kites." 

The guard-house was in the narrowest part of 
the valley, and it was merely defended by a 
breast-work of loose stones, extending across the 
ravine, but of no actual strength. We remained 
here for the night. 

One of the muleteers, either from design or 
stupidity, had a most provoking trick of con- 
stantly standing before me, when I was seated 
near the fire of our bivouac: I repeatedly ex- 
pressed my dislike of this practice, which, how- 
ever, he appeared not to heed ; at last I hit upon 
an expedient, which effectually cured him. That 
evening, according to custom, he had taken his 
position in front, and was in a stooping posture, 
cooking his baldiviano, when I quietly with- 
drew the bullet from one of my pocket pistols, and 
fired the powder at his trasero^. This unexpected 
explosion caused him to leap over the fire, with 
the agility of a mountain goat ; he for some time 



Hind quarter. 



THE CORDILLERA. 



121 



continued rubbing the warmed part, amidst the 
loud laughter of his companions, and he did not 
think fit to intrude afterwards on my side of 
the fire. 

On the next day, after passing through a coun- 
try still more covered with vegetation and trees, 
we came to the river of Aconcagua, which is al- 
most opposite the village of that name. This 
river is very rapid, and is sometimes dangerous to 
ford; however, we proceeded to cross it one by 
one. I must here pause to relate the conduct of 
the quadruped, which carried my inestimable sam- 
ple-box, and which I was driving before me through 
this river. Whether this mule (for they are all 
remarkably sagacious animals,) actually knew the 
value of the samples better than myself, or whe- 
ther he was instigated by a freak, I have not 
ascertained, but scarcely had he reached the mid- 
dle of the stream, when — Oh, horror ! I saw my 
unfortunate box immersed in the waves, its bearer 
having thought proper to kneel down to cool 
himself! Before I could rally the beast from his 
position, the mischief was done, and my ill-starred 

T 



122 



THE CORDILLERA. 



casket was completely inundated. And I, know- 
ing its contents (was aware that this novel mode 
of washing had caused the colours of most of the 
prints to take their final leave, at the same time, 
that it had dissolved the starch out of those war- 
ranted to stand/' tarnished the lustre of the bora- 
bazeens, and spoiled all the beautiful Halifax 
baizes,) sadly bewailed this fatal ablution, until my 
arrival at Santiago, where I was informed that the 
Chile merchants (who are no bad judges,) never 
purchase by sample, always preferring to see 
the goods, and then " there can be no mistake ; " 
which caution, doubtless, proceeds from a long 
and intimate knowledge of the forced trade upon 
the shores of the Pacific, by which they have, of 
course, been thoroughly initiated into all the 
" mysteries of the craft." 

Having crossed the river of Aconcagua, in an 
hour more we were safely lodged in the village of 
Villa Nueva de los Andes. It is prettily situated 
in a very fertile part of Chile : the inhabitants are 
few, and are either farmers or muleteers, but they 
raise quantities of corn, maize, grapes, and almost 



VILLA NUEVA. 



123 



every description of fruit. This village has a 
church and prison, and is governed by an alcalde, 
to whom we showed our passports ; his house was 
in the square, which is surrounded by small houses 
built of mud, and whitewashed. The luxuriant 
green of the country around, together with the 
grand back view of the Cordilleras, has a most 
picturesque effect. There was a small military 
guard in the place, but the soldiers wore what I 
supposed was their undress ; it consisted of a mi- 
litary cap, a poncho, and sandals of hide. Our 
head muleteer, Manzillo, resided at this village, 
and wishing to appear spruce on his arrival in 
Chile, which is the name they give Santiago, he 
resolved to tarry here a day or two in order to 
beautify. My friend and myself were not dis- 
posed to stay a moment after our several impedi- 
ments, and were most anxious to get on to the 
capital, and therefore immediately hired horses 
for that purpose. 

We left our muleteer, at his own door, with his 
head lying upon his wife's lap, (who was giving it 
a strict examination,) and requesting him to bring 



124 



CUESTA DE CHACABUCO. 



up the rear and baggage the next day, we gal- 
lopped off, intending to sleep at Chacabuco, which 
is fourteen leagues from Santiago de Chile. The 
road was hilly, and in an hour we got to the 
top of the Cuesta de Chacabuco, which overlooks 
the plain in which Santiago stands. It was at 
this spot, on the 12th of February, 1817, that 
the patriots, under General San Martin, gained 
that great victory which has immortalized the 
name of the place. The above distinguished offi- 
cer, who has since become so celebrated for his 
career in Chile and Peru, here laid the foundation 
of that fame which subsequently became so re- 
nowned in South America. He was governor of 
Mendoza, in the latter part of the year 1816, 
when the combined armies of O'Higgins and 
Carrera had been defeated at Rancagua, in Chile. 
There was a misunderstanding between these two 
chiefs, and San Martin espoused the cause of the 
former, and as these officers, as well as the wreck 
of their army, passed over to Mendoza, San 
Martin, by his great exertions, collected them 
into a fresh body, and, incorporating them with 



CUESTA DE CHACABUCO. 



125 



the troops he had raised in Mendoza and the 
neighbouring provinces, in the course of six 
months he was at the head of about five thousand 
men, and prepared for an attack to recover Chile, 
from the possession of the Spaniards. General 
San Martin matured his plans with so much cau- 
tion, that the royalists were quite at a loss on 
what point to expect him, and at one period their 
troops were despatched to the South, in dread lest 
he should make an irruption through the plan- 
chon, or territory of the Pehuenches Indians, and 
join the adherents of O'Higgins, who were very 
numerous in the province of Conception. In 
short, by celerity, secrecy, and false alarms, he 
so perplexed the Spanish governor, that the latter 
kept his troops in separate divisions in different 
and remote points in Chile. 

The passes through which the army of San 
Martin ultimately effected the invasion of Chile, 
were considered almost inaccessible, and, compa- 
ratively, few troops had been left to guard that 
side of the capital. On the 17th January, 1817, 
the patriot army set out in three divisions, to ac- 



126 CUE5TA DE CHACAEUCO. 

complisli an undertaking to wliicli Nature ap- 
peared to oppose the most formidable barriers. 

The march was long, harassing, and di'eadfnl : I 
cannot refer the reader to a better account of it 
than that contained in the Memoirs of ^General 
]\Iiller; suffice it to say, that, after enduring cold, 
hunger, fatigue, and every kind of privation; after 
losing many men, o^nng to the frost, on the tops 
of the Andes, and thousands of horses and mules, 
thi'ougli fatigue, the tlii'ee divisions met on the 
Chile side, at the point agreed upon, notwith- 
standing they had heard nothing of each other 
during their separate marches among the moun- 
tains. The whole army was reunited on the 12tli 
of February, on the heights which overlook the 
Cuesta de CkacaJjiico. The royalists had fallen 
back into the plain, and were there dra^ii up in 
order of battle: and here San ^Martin attacked 
them, when a general action took place, which 
was terminated in a few hours, by the total 
defeat of the royalists: and the next day the 
patriot army entered, in triumph, the capital of 
Santias:©. 



CUESTA DE CHACABUCO. 



127 



As we passed along the plain^ we perceived the 
remains of the " broken tools which tyrants cast 
away," for many were the human bones lying 
whitening in the wind and sun, but the corn was 
shooting up in its beautiful green, as if to screen 
them from our view. 

I cannot imagine a more humiliating sensation 
for poor human nature than passing over a field 
of battle, after the interest attendant on an ex- 
pected engagement, and the excitation of the ac- 
tual fight have subsided, and the only visible to- 
kens of man's ruin and devastation are the scat- 
tered and crumbling bones of his fellow-creatures! 

On the night of our arrival at this place, we 
slept at the farm of Chacabuco, which, on the day 
of the battle, had been the head quarters of the 
Spanish general. This farm was the largest we 
had seen in Chile; the land around was very fer- 
tile, consisting of a black loamy soil. Here we 
saw a native ploughing a field; the plough was 
composed of a heavy log of wood, as rude as 
possible, both in make and shape, and a piece of 
iron served as the share. This machine, which 



128 



CUESTA DE CHACABUCO. 



was drawn by two oxen^ and guided by a Guaso*, 
scarcely entered the soil, but merely scraped apart 
a little loam, and yet this slight labour answered 
every purpose in a land for which Nature has done 
so much. Attached to the farm there was a vine- 
yard and orchard, with every other usual appen- 
dage of a large estate, and cattle and horses in 
abundance. 

The climate, at this time of the year (October,) 
was truly delightful, though somewhat warm in 
the middle of the day, but the nights are deli- 
ciously cool, and the cloudless sky studded with 
stars, which shed a brilliancy rarely seen in Eu- 
rope, together with the constellations of the Great 
Southern Cross, and the Clouds of Magellan give a 
feeling of sublimity to a Chilean night. At Cha- 
cabuco we met with every accommodation ; there 
was plenty of meat, fowls, fruits, and vegetables ; 
and we were ushered into a house, for the first 
time, since our departure from Mendoza, (our so- 
journ at the casucha only excepted.) The room 



* Countryman. 



SANTIAGO. 



129 



was large and well built, with a cane top ; but the 
inside was a dark mud, the walls and doors being 
neither whitewashed nor painted. 

On the 29th of October we started at sunrise, 
and, before noon, came in view of the city of San- 
tiago, which we saw from a small eminence, at 
the distance of about three leagues, with its white 
towers shining in the sun*. We had a delightful 
ride through a grove of aromatic trees, something 
like the laburnum in appearance, and by three 
o'clock we had passed the suburbs, and were on 
the bridge leading into the town of Santiago. 
This bridge, which is of stone, has five arches, and 
is lofty and handsome ; it was built by O'Higgins, 
father of the present general, when he was cap- 
tain-general of Chile. From the centre of it 

* The population from Santa Rosa to Santiago is 
very scanty, and the roads in winter are very desolate, 
because in this season the mountains are closed to the 
muleteers. Even when in the immediate environs of 
Santiago, there was not the least bustle which could 
indicate our approach to this populous city. 



V 



130 



SANTIAGO. 



there is a fine view of the town, the surrounding 
country, and the river Mapocho. 

The country, compared with any thing I had 
hitherto seen in South America, presented a less 
wild view; cultivation had extended itself far up 
the sides of the lower Cordillera, and the planta- 
tions on the acclivity, interspersed with haciendas, 
or farm-houses, gave an appearance of population 
and industry. The Mapocho is not a wide 
stream, except in the rainy seasons and during 
the melting of the snows in the mountains, when 
it is swollen to a formidable size, and on several 
occasions it has inundated part of the city, not- 
withstanding the protection of a brick dyke, called 
the Tajamar, which extends along the whole of 
that side of that town which skirts the river. 

The city of Santiago does not equal in size that 
of Buenos Ayres, but it is much more pleasing to 
the eye. The streets are of a good breadth, well 
paved with small stones, with a flag footpath. 
The houses are, usually, only one story high, on 
account of earthquakes; the walls are four feet 
thick, and are built of large bricks, called dobies. 



SANTIAGO. 



131 



made of baked mud; but they are all well white- 
washed^ which gives them an agreeable appear- 
ance. The windows looking towards the streets 
have an ornamented reja of iron, well painted, 
and sometimes gilded. Every house has a large 
gateway, which is the only entrance to the manr 
sion. Some of the front apartments are let out 
for shops, but these have a small door in front, 
and are not connected with the family residence. 
The town, altogether, is very regularly built, the 
streets being all at right angles, which is the 
style of most Spanish cities. 

We passed through the great square, but its 
buildings, with the exception of the governor's 
palace, are very poor in appearance ; and there is 
a market at one end. The cathedral, which 
stands in this square, was unfinished when I saw 
it, but its style of architecture was more chaste 
and regular than any I had previously observed. 
Passing the square, we rode into the front area 
of the house of a merchant, to whom I had 
letters. I found him at dinner, with the whole 
of his countrymen, at the house of Dr. Cox. 

K 2 



132 



SANTIAGO. 



All the English, then in Santiago, did not 
amount to twelve, and as they were comparatively 
strangers to the place, (most of them having come 
from Buenos Ayres after the battle of Chaca- 
buco,) they associated constantly with each other; 
they were all, with the exception of Dr. Cox*, 
engaged in commerce. A grand fete and ball was 
to be given that night, by General San Mar- 
tin, in honour of Commodore Bowles, (his Bri- 
tannic Majesty's commander in the Pacific,) whose 
frigate, the Amphion, was then lying in the Bay 
of Valparaiso. All the English were to be there, 
and they obligingly oifered Mr. Robinson f and 
myself tickets; accordingly, in the evening, after 
taking off our beards for the first time since we 
left Mendoza, and dressing for the occasion, we 

* This gentleman is much respected by every one 
for his charitable disposition and pleasing manners, and 
has resided in Santiago upwards of twenty years, as a 
medical practitioner. He was formerly a surgeon in the 
Russian navy. 

f Mr. J. L. Robinson is now a merchant in Are- 
quipa, Peru, and married to a Peruvian lady. 



SANTIAGO. 



133 



proceeded to the Cahildo, a large public building, 
where the assembly was given. 

The spacious court of the Cabildo forming a 
large quadrangle, was fitted up for this enter- 
tainment; an awning had been spread over for a 
roof, which was adorned with the united flags of 
Buenos Ayres, Chile, and other friendly nations; 
the whole was beautifully illuminated at the sides 
with variegated lamps, and several rich glass 
chandeliers were suspended in different parts of 
the room. The large sala and apartments around 
were laid out with supper and refreshments, and 
other rooms were set apart for the chief officers, 
both civil and military. 

T was this evening introduced to General San 
Martin, by Mr. Richard Price, and was much 
struck at the appearance of this Hannibal of the 
Andes. He is tall and well formed, and his whole 
appearance is highly military: his countenance is 
very expressive ; his complexion a deep olive ; his 
hair is black, and he wore large whiskers without 
mustachios ; his eyes are large and black, and pos- 
sess a fire and animation which would be remarka- 



134 



SANTIAGO. 



ble under any circumstances. He is very gentle- 
manly in his deportment^ and^ when I saw him, he 
was conversing with the greatest ease and affability 
to the company around; he received me with 
much cordiality, for he is very partial to the Eng- 
lish nation. The assembly was most brilliant, 
consisting of all the inhabitants of the first rank 
in Santiago, as well as of all the chief military 
officers: hundreds were performing the mazy 
waltz, and general satisfaction was depicted in 
every face. 

When I contemplated this scene, so different 
from that exhibited during our late melancholy 
and dreary journey — the being so suddenly trans- 
lated into the midst of civilization and elegance, 
from the lonely Cordillera, to the assembled 
" beauty" and chivalry " of the capital, appeared 
to me like enchantment. 

Upon my afterwards attempting to describe 
this feeling to a Spanish gentleman, he used an 
apt, though somewhat profane simile when he re- 
plied^ — You must have felt like a soul escaped 
from Purgatory into Paradise." 



SANTIAGO. 



135 



Several of my own countrymen were in the 
patriot army, and amongst those present, at the 
above assembly, were Captain O'Brien, and Lieu- 
tenants Bowness and Lebas; these had all been 
in the battle of Chacabuco. Some officers of His 
Majesty's ship Amphion were also partaking of 
the entertainment. During the supper, which was 
laid out in a very splendid and sumptuous man- 
ner, many patriotic and complimentary toasts were 
exchanged between the chief officers, both civil 
and military, and our own naval commander. After 
this repast, the party recommenced dancing, which 
I understand they continued till long after day- 
light, but, feeling myself weary, I retired soon 
after midnight, to take my first night's repose in 
the capital of Chile. 



136 



CHAPTER VII. 

The City of Santiago. Great Square, The Inha- 
bitants. Convents. Superstition. Religious Cere- 
monies, Friars. Amusements. Tacamar, Political 
Summary, 

The City of Santiago was founded by Pedro de 
Valdivia, in the year 1541. It is situated in an ex- 
tensive and fertile plain, watered by the rivers 
Maypo and Mapocho, and lies in 33 South lati- 
tude, and 55 W. longitude, from Greenwich. The 
space which it covers is much more considerable 
than the amount of the population would seem 
to warrant, but every dwelling extends over a 
large portion of ground, being generally built 
but one story high, and each has a spacious court 
in front, and a garden and yard behind. 

Asequias, about three feet wide, run through 
the centre of the streets; well supplied from the 



SANTIAGO. 



13T 



river Mapocho, and as the body of water is 
large and constantly flowing, the streets are 
always kept in a state of cleanliness, much su- 
perior to those of Buenos Ayres. Asequias are 
likewise carried through the gardens, some of 
which, belonging to the first-rate houses, are 
large and handsomely laid out, ornamented with 
stone fountains in the centre, and containing 
orange, pomegranate, and lime trees, with vines, 
and a variety of plants and flowers indigenous 
to the country. Vegetation is always in a flou- 
rishing state in Santiago, for the winter is scarcely 
felt in this delightful country, and the snow sel- 
dom lies on the ground. Chile also abounds in 
many aromatic and medicinal plants, and may 
be said to have the blessing of St. Patrick upon 
it, as no venomous reptile is to be found through- 
out the country. 

The churches only are built of stone and brick, 
but the houses are composed of mud bricks, baked 
in the sun, and are roofed with red tiles. The 
wa^ 'iof the houses are very thick, from two feet 
to a mra, or Spanish yard, which renders them 



138 



SANTIAGO. 



very substantial, and the dryness of the climate is 
also favourable to their duration. 

The great square contains, on the north side, 
the cathedral and bishop's palace, and on the 
east the palace of the governor and the state 
prison; but the south and west sides consist of 
shops, with a piazza, which affords a very refresh- 
ing shelter duiing the heat of the day. The shops 
have no external display, and are usually com- 
posed of one small room. None of the shop- 
keepers are very rich, and those Spanish mer- 
chants who had become opulent under the old 
regime were fast disappearing at the time I speak 
of ; for the patriot government had placed exac- 
tions upon them, (to support the war of the coun- 
try,) who had attained their wealth by a Spanish 
monopoly; and although it may appear hard 
upon the individuals, yet, when it is considered 
that they derived that wealth from similar extor- 
tions upon the natives, no liberal person will say 
that it was any thing but retributive justice. The 
artizans in Santiago are principally silversmitlis, 
curriers, saddlers, and blacksmiths, but their work 



SANTIAGO. 



139 



is very rude and uncouth; their joining is gene- 
rally finished by the hatchet, and their huge 
hinges and padlocks are of a construction that 
would appear most strange to one who had never 
travelled beyond the purlieus of Sheffield and 
Birmingham. The Spanish tailors, though they 
cannot by their style improve a bad figure, yet 
certainly have the knack of spoiling a good one, 
"the only garment" they "make scientifically" 
is the Spanish capote, or cloak, which is of such 
voluminous dimensions, that it frequently serves 
as a heir loom from generation to generation. 

There are several water-mills in the neighbour- 
hood of Santiago, for grinding corn and maize. 
The principal buildings are the Mint, the Ca- 
bildo. Custom House, the governor's and bishop's 
palaces, the cathedral, and the churches of San 
Domingo and San Merced. 

The inhabitants in the city and environs are 
estimated at forty thousand, but I should scarcely 
think that they amounted to that number. They 
are extremely obliging and mild in their disposi- 
tions, and I observed that they were remarkably 



140 



SANTIAGO. 



attentive to strangers, — indeed it was not unusual, 
when a foreigner was passing through the streets, 
for him to be stopped at the door or mndow of a 
house by some member of the family, and invited 
to partake of their hospitality. 

The style of living of the inhabitants is far 
from luxurious, their standard dishes are soups 
and ollas. The bread is excellent in Santiago, 
Chile wheat being considered of very superior 
quality. In the morning they take mate and 
chocolate ; about two o'clock they dine, and then 
take a siesta until four ; in the evening they take 
mate and a hot meat supper. They have but 
little idea of setting out a table, and do not re- 
main an instant after the meal is concluded; the 
men are very abstemious and sober, and their only 
luxury is a cigar after meals. 

At the present day, some of the first-rate fLuni- 
lies have fallen into European customs, particu- 
larly in regard to the hours in those houses where 
intermarriages have taken place with foreigners. 

There is in Santiago a convent, built by the 
Jesuits ; indications of the surprising industry and 



SANTIAGO. 



141 



intelligence of that extraordinary sect are to be 
met with all oyer Spanish America. The account 
of the astonishing obstacles they have surmounted, 
in improving the cultivation and buildings of the 
country they have settled in, and in converting 
the native Indians, would fill a volume; and al- 
though their exertions tended principally towards 
increasing the dignity of their own body, which 
excited the jealousy of the Spanish court, yet I 
question whether their annihilation was conducive 
to the interests of the country at the period it oc- 
curred. Their intelligence and industry were the 
theme of universal praise, and certainly have not 
since been supplied. 

The convents have all corridors, or cloisters, 
according to the Gothic style. Each monk has 
his separate cell, furnished with the greatest sim- 
plicity; a cruise of water, an image of the Saviour, 
and the patron saint, a few religious books, a ta- 
ble, and a chair. The corridors contain paintings 
of many of the martyrs and saints who have suf- 
fered persecution and death for their stedfast ad- 
herence to the Roman Catholic faith. Sir Tho- 



142 



SANTIAGO. 



mas a Becket, and many other English saints, who 
lived dm*ing the times of om- Edwards and 
Henrys, are frequently to be seen, rudely painted, 
on the walls, with brief sketches of their lives and 
manner of theu' death. 

San Francisco, in the Canada of Santiago, is a 
remarkably fine and spacious convent ; its com*ts 
are adorned ^sith lofty palm trees and cedars. 
Sometimes a large wooden crucifix is erected in 
the centre of the court belonging to the convents, 
upon which the priests do penance and scom*ge 
themselves ; and at the foot of the cross a number 
of human sculls are occasionally to be seen. 
"When I beheld these sad emblems of mortality 
piled up in pyramidical order, and grinning in 
many a ghastly row," it remined me of Hamlet's 
observation on the scull of poor Yorick — 

" To what base uses we may return." 

As far as 1 have ever seen of the priests and friars, 
they are far from intolerant, nor do they take 
any trouble to obtain proselytes from amongst 
strangers. Certainly, at a former period, they 



SANTIAGO. 



143 



endeavoured to inflame the natives against all he- 
retics to their faith, and I was credibly informed, 
by an Englishman, who had visited Chile, about 
twenty years ago, that the lower class of people 
were all impressed with the idea, that every Pro- 
testant had a tail similar to that ascribed to the 

evil one of course it was policy in the priests 
to inculcate this belief, as it tended to prevent 
their dominion over the natives being infringed 
upon. The same gentleman informed me, that 
the above opinion was so firmly established among 
some of the inhabitants, that, when he first visited 
Santiago, one old lady, more curious than the 
rest, drew aside the skirts of. his coat, to ascertain, 
by ocular demonstration, whether he actually pos- 
sessed that Satanic appendage." 

These absurdities now no longer exist, and the 
power of superstition is fast upon the decline 
amongst all classes of the people. At the same 
time, it must be allowed, that there is something 
in the pomp and blandishments of the Roman 
Catholic faith well calculated to gain a sway 
over the ignorant mind. Its solemn festivals 



144 



SANTIAGO. 



and gorgeous processions; the impressive church 
service, accompanied by music and the chaunt 
of the splendidly attired churchmen ; the ap- 
parent devotion of the kneeling congregation; 
when I have seen the interior of the church one 
blaze of light, from the wax candles ; have wit- 
nessed the effulgence thrown from the high altar, 
the jewelled and gilded images and pictures, the 
massive silver chandeliers and candelabras ; and, 
above all, have listened to the loud organ's peal, 
streaming down the illuminated aisle, joined 
to the music of the violin, clarionet, and hautboy, 
I have ceased to wonder at this religion retaining 
such a sovereign power over the senses, to which 
it appears to be so particularly addressed. 

It is not my wish to call into question any 
tenets different to those in which I have been 
educated, but I state what were my own im- 
pressions, as a passive looker on, at these 
things. 

The friars certainly live comfortably, and ap- 
pear to be about the most robust class of the in- 
habitants ; they are very civil and affable, and it is 



SANTIAGO, 



145, 



only occasionally that one meets with a surly 
and disappointed looking priest who eyes every 
stranger to his religion as an enemy. 

I have often been invited to partake of their 
hospitality, and they have usually an abundance 
of excellent cheer. Several of my friends and myself 
were one day invited by an Irish friar, who had 
resided many years in Chile, and who was a bro- 
ther of the order of Recoleta. His convent was 
beautifully situated, about half a league from 
Santiago, at the foot of a verdant hill, with a 
garden and vineyard of considerable size. 

He entertained us with a profusion of good 
things, and was joined by several of his brethren, 
not of " Pharaoh's lean kine," and as there was 
wine enough to make us merry, one of my friends 
whispered to me, this is "father Paul in his cups" 
realized. 

The hacendados, or farmers, are the most opu- 
lent people in Santiago, and some of their estates 
yield a considerable income; these are generally 
situated in the fertile vales of Aconcagua, Maypo, 
Rancagua, Melipilla, and the neighbourhood of 

L 



146 



SANTIAGO. 



Santiago. I have before stated, that rkh Spanish 
merchants have been forced away, either by ex- 
tortions, or from a dread of them, and very few of 
the shopkeepers are people of property. The 
lower classes in Santiago are very poor, but then 
their wants are few, and the mildness of the cli- 
mate and the fertility of the soil tend to render 
their absolute necessaries still fewer. There are 
no wholesale merchants in Santiago among the 
natives, all people in trade have shops. Some 
of the members of the municipality, and even 
of the Cabildo, which is the highest court, are 
shopkeepers. There are few purchasers come 
from any distance to Santiago, the line of coast 
in Chile being so extended, that they can procure 
their necessaries much nearer. It is in the large 
towns and villages that European articles are 
almost exclusively consumed, for the country peo- 
ple have their own manufactures of ponchos, 
coarse baizes, and cottons. The habits of the 
people would not be considered industrious in 
Europe; a balmy climate, little to do, and the 
usual inclination in mankind to indolence, con- 



SANTIAGO. 



147 



spire to make Santiago far from a l)usy town; yet 
what can be expected in a place so retired from 
the coast, and where, comparatively, nothing is 
imported, except what serves for the consumption 
of the inhabitants, the number of whom, both in 
the town and suburbs, d5es not exceed forty thou- 
sand. Even the English become more languid 
and inert after a time, from having their ware- 
houses constantly open, without visitors, (except 
on the arrival of a new cargo,) and from their be- 
ing, perhaps from two to three months, without get- 
ting either a newspaper or letter from their own 
country. When all these things are considered^ 
it is not surprising that people should fall into a 
natural lassitude and indolence, now that the 
country is undisturbed by civil wars. The men 
of Santiago, at the present day, dress very well, 
especially the young beaux of the place. It is 
only lately that they have followed European 
fashions : when I first visited Santiago, a round 
stuff jacket, adorned with brass filagree buttons, 
and a poncho, was a very usual dress amongst 

L 2 



148 



SANTIAGO. 



respectable young men; but tbey have now 
changed surprisingly for the better. 

The ladies of Santiago are very pretty, w^ith 
fairer complexions than any I sav^r in South Ame- 
rica ; many have blue eyes and auburn hair : they 
are very good tempered and affable. Their amuse- 
ments do not differ much from those of the 
under republic of Buenos Ayres, but they have 
scarcely attained so close a resemblance to Eu- 
ropean manners. They dance and play on the 
guitar, many on the pianoforte; and they are 
very lively in their remarks and conversation. 
The education is very confined, yet their pene- 
tration is quick; they enjoy, as may be sup- 
posed, but few of the advantages of reading. I 
have seldom seen their libraries extend beyond 
Don Quixote, Gil Bias, the novels of Cervantes, 
Paul and Virginia, and a few minor story books, 
always excepting the Missal, History of Mar- 
tyrs, and some religious books. Yet I know not 
whether they are not in a more healthy state of 
mind, from this paucity of reading, than the ladies 



SANTIAGO. 



149 



of those countries, where the imagination is con- 
stantly heated, by invariably perusing " the last 
new novel/' and who, in consequence, have usually 
a corresponding quantum of affected sentiment, to 
which the less sophisticated fair ones of Chile are 
strangers. However, I have known several ladies 
in South America who were very conversant with 
French and English literature, and who spoke 
and wrote both languages with considerable flu- 
ency. 

The inhabitants of Santiago have but few di- 
versions, yet those are extremely pleasant. On 
festival days and Sundays, the people assemble, 
about a mile from the town, at the extremity of 
the Tajamar, and indulge in their favourite 
amusement of horse-racing: which is conducted 
in the same manner as the races I have described 
in my account of Mendoza. 

On these holidays, the ladies proceed to the \ 
Tajamar in full dress, in their calesas, each drawn 
by a mule, with a black or Mulatto postilion on 
its back, and the carriages are arranged abreast 



150 



SANTIAGO. 



on one side; the gentlemen display their eques- 
trian grace^ and keep riding about, occasionally 
stopping to converse with their acquaintances in 
the carriages. Many of the gentry also walk up 
and down the Tajamar, or upon the wall, which 
overlooks the river. The Tajamar is by far the 
pleasantest promenade near Santiago; it is a 
broad straight road, about a mile in length, and 
contains, at certain distances, stone seats, which, 
on both sides of the road, are shaded with lofty 
and evergreen trees. There is a large fountain 
near the entrance, and the Cordilleras range pa- 
rallel with it, displaying, in the evening, a variety 
of beautiful colours, — as the sun's last glittering 
rays are cast upon the pinnacles of the moun- 
tains. 

Since 1817 another more extensive and beauti- 
ful promenade has been formed on the Canada : 
it commenced whilst Don Bernando O'Higgins 
was governor. It is planted with poplar trees, in 
regular rows, and is now more fashionable than 
the Tajamar. 



SANTIAGO. 151 



That the reader may form a clear conception 
of the existing state of political affairs upon my 
arrival in Chile, it will be necessary to take a re- 
trospective review of the different parties and in- 
terests which had for some years previously agi- 
tated the political horizon. Chile had remained 
quiet under the Spanish rule since the conquest, 
and, with the exception of occasional wars with 
the Araucano Indians, who live to the south of 
the river Biohio, had enjoyed uninterrupted 
peace and tranquillity. Indeed, the inhabitants 
appear to partake in disposition of the balmy na- 
ture of their climate, and nothing but the intole- 
rance and tyranny of the Spanish government 
could have prompted so pacific a nation to take 
up arms. The oppression and extortions of the 
civil and military men, who were sent from Spain 
to govern the natives; their horrid cruelties to 
the poor defenceless Indians (not the least of 
which was compelling them to perish in the 
slavery of the mines;) the Spanish system of 



152 



THE REVOLUTION. 



government, which did not allow the people the 
benefit of the natural productions of the soil, pro- 
hibiting them from cultivating either the vine, 
the olive, or the tobacco plant ; and forcing them 
to receive their wines and oils from the mother 
country, and their tobacco through the same 
channel ; the enormous duties upon all European 
manufactured goods, the introduction of which 
was confined to the monopoly of Cadiz merchants, 
who sent out but a few vessels annually, with ar- 
ticles which the petty governors of the provinces 
(interested in the sale,) compelled the natives to 
purchase, at extortionate prices, whether they 
wanted them or not; — these, and other innume- 
rable acts of injury and insult, on the part of 
Spain towards the colonies, repeated year after 
year, and no privilege or amelioration for the be- 
nefit of the people taking place, at length aroused 
the natives to a proper sense of their wrongs, — and 
when the bugle of Liberty first sounded on the 
shores of La Plata, the blast was re-echoed from 
the Chilean mountains. 

The events which had occurred in the new 



THE REVOLUTION. 



153 



republic of Buenos Ayres could not fail to inspire 
the citizens of Chile with an anxious desire to 
emancipate themselves from thraldom ; or, if they 
could not entirely throw off the galling fetters of 
Spain, at least to make an attempt to ease them. 
It does not appear to have been at first the inten- 
tion of the Chile people to separate themselves en- 
tirely from the mother country, their desire of 
change extending no further, than to the modify- 
ing of the laws in favour of the native inhabi- 
tants, who were to govern in trust for the Spa- 
nish monarch. 

The principal inhabitants in Santiago, under 
this view, deposed the Captain General of the 
capital, in July, 1810, and formed a junta com- 
posed of six of the most influential individuals. 
This junta enacted several laws of the greatest 
importance. 

It proclaimed the liberty of the press ; the abo-* 
lition of all fees to the clergy, with the exception 
of their salaries which were to be paid by the 
state ; free trade with all nations friendly to Spain ; 
and the abolition of Negro slavery, by declar- 



154 



THE REVOLUTION, 



ing that, from the date of the formation of the 
Congress (which was soon formed,) all children 
born of slaves should be free, and those imported 
subsequently should, after a time, receive the 
benefit of manumission. 

These new laws in a nation accustomed hitherto 
to passive obedience, may appear premature, as 
the people who had been kept blinded by igno- 
rance could not suddenly be prepared for so en- 
lightened a system; yet these inconveniences are 
always unavoidable in a revolution, and experi- 
ence proves that the sooner a people are informed 
of the extent of their privileges, the more likely 
are they to attain their object in a short time. 

Of course this new political state of things 
gave rise to various civil conflicts, and, towards 
the year 1811, dissensions had reached such a 
height, that it enabled three brothers, of a family 
of distinction, in Santiago, to seize upon the 
military command of the capital, and to dissolve 
the Congress. The family of the Carreras were 
the most influential in the city. The brothers 
Jose Miguel, Juan Jose, and Luis, were all young 



THE REVOLUTION. 



155 



men of talent and attainments^ particularly the 
eldest. They were extremely handsome, and ex- 
celled in the military accomplishments of the 
day; they were all officers in the army, and much 
beloved by the soldiery on account of their affa- 
bility and unbounded liberality; yet, when in 
power, they unfortunately yielded to their vanity 
and dissipation, which was ultimately the cause 
of the party of O'Higgins gaining an ascendancy ; 
and the conflicts which ensued were the source 
of much bloodshed and sorrow throughout the 
land. 

After the Carreras had taken the command 
and dissolved the Congress, a fresh junta was 
formed, and Jose Miguel Carrera chosen as its 
head. 

'In the meanwhile the Viceroy of Peru, who 
was anxiously awaiting the results of the disgust 
which the incapacity of the several leading par- 
ties in Chile had spread among the people, de- 
spatched a force under General Parejas from 
Lima, which landed near Talcahuano, in the 
early part of 1813. On the arrival of this force 



156 



THE REVOLUTION. 



the dissensions which had existed between the 
parties of Don Bernando O'Higgins, and the 
Carreras, and which were on the eve of breaking 
into a civil war, were checked for a time; both 
united their forces and proceeded to act against 
the common enemy. The royalists were de- 
feated in two partial actions; but the patriots 
failed to follow up their success, and gave time 
to the royalists to put the towns of Chilian and 
Talcahuano into a state of defence. The roy- 
alists also gained over the Indians, the free and 
fearless Araucanos, who became their allies. Many 
battles of no great importance were fought be- 
tween the contending parties, in which General 
O'Higgins gained fresh laurels by his perseve- 
rance and courage, for which he was remark- 
able; but the little military energy displayed by 
the Carreras caused them to be suspended from 
rank and employment, and sent to Santiago ; they 
were, however, taken prisoners by the royalists 
whilst on their road thither. 

O'Higgins and Mackenna then took the com- 
mand of the army. Another reinforcement from 



THE REVOLUTION. 



157 



Lima, under General Gainza, made its appear- 
ance, but it was defeated by O'Higgins and Mac- 
kenna, and Gainza was obliged to shut himself 
up in Talca, 

At this time Captain Hilliar, of H. M. S. Phoebe, 
came from Lima with powers from the Viceroy to 
act as mediator. 

The Supreme Director Lastra appointed com- 
missioners to negociate a-peace, and Captain Hil- 
liar accompanied them to Talca, with Mr. John 
James Barnard as his interpreter. A treaty was 
signed on the 5th May, 1814, between these 
commissioners and the Spanish general, who 
bound himself to evacuate the country with all 
his troops, within the space of two months. 

The Viceroy was to acknowledge the freedom 
of Chile, but that state, nevertheless, was to send 
deputies to the Cortes in Spain, which body they 
agreed to acknowledge during the surveillance 
of Ferdinand the beloved " in France. Hostages 
for the fulfilment of this treaty were exchanged. 

But this solemn compact was a mere farce on 
the part of the Spaniards, and, as it subsequently 



t^B THE REVOLUTION. 

proved, was only entered into by Gainza to allow 
time for a fresh force to be despatched from Lima 
in aid of the royal cause. Accordingly, General 
Osorio, with a division of troops, landed at Tal- 
cahuano, and took the field with about 5000 
men. 

The Carreras, who had been set at liberty, by 
virtue of the treaty, had shortly after forcibly de- 
posed Lastra, and Jose Miguel was again placed 
at the head of the government, but the previous 
conduct of the three brothers had caused a pow- 
erful faction to be formed against them, which so- 
licited the aid of O'Higgins, who was then at 
Talca. 

In this state of things, and when both parties 
had taken the field at Maypo, they unexpectedly 
received a summons from Osorio to surrender at 
discretion. There was now no hope for the cause 
of liberty but to settle matters by the sword, and, 
under this conviction, O'Higgins, in order to make 
common cause with his rival against the foreign 
enemy, generously waived his command and agreed 
to serve under Jos6 Miguel Carrera, 



THE REVOLUTION. 



159 



O'Higgins led the way to the enemy, whom he 
encountered at the river Cachapoal, but was de- 
feated by superior numbers. He then retreated 
into Rancagua with the remnant of his force; 
Carrera, with the main army, being close at 
hand, on the outside of the town. The royalists 
commenced a most determined attack upon Ran- 
cagua, which was as desperately defended; but 
Carrera affording no assistance to his new col- 
league, the place was carried by storm after a 
resistance of thirty-six hours, in which more than 
half the besieged were slain. 

In this extremity, O'Higgins resolved to make 
a sortie with the remainder of his troops, (about 
200 men,) and placing himself at their head, he 
rushed out of the town, desperately cut his way 
through his numerous assailants, and effected his 
escape, together with his brave band. The hardy 
valour of this action paralysed the royalists for 
the moment, and they did not pursue him. 

The conduct of Carrera, in thus being a pas- 
sive spectator of the discomfiture of his ally, was 
considered highly culpable, and was attributed 



160 



THE REVOLUTION. 



to jealousy, which determined him to sacrifice 
his rival at all hazards ; however, when O'Hig- 
gins made good his retreat, Carrera was forced 
to fall back upon Santiago with a force of fif- 
teen hundred men. But the inhabitants were 
disgusted with the continued factions, and called 
loudly for Osorio, and, the capital being no 
longer tenable by the patriots, such troops as did 
not desert, crossed the Andes, to the number of 
six hundred men, together with many families of 
rank, including O'Higgins, Mackenna, and the 
three Carreras. San Martin rallied the flying pa- 
triots at Mendoza, espoused the cause of O'Hig- 
gins, and the three Carreras passed on to Buenos 
Ayres. 

Meanwhile General Osorio took possession of 
Santiago, with the most solemn protestations to 
overlook the conduct of all who had had a share 
in the revolution, and he issued a general am- 
nesty, but scarcely had he by this stratagem in- 
duced the heads of families to return to their 
homes, than he commenced a most cruel system 
of persecution and plunder. He seized the per- 



THE REVOLUTION. 



161 



sons of some of the most opulent and respectable 
patriots, as well as those who were only suspected 
of being such, and had them put on board a 
vessel in Valparaiso. They were cooped up like 
slaves from the coast of Africa, wanting the 
common necessaries of life, and were not even 
allowed the privileges of the deck. The vessel 
was ordered to the island of Juan Fernandez, and 
fortunately the passage was short, or they must 
have perished from disease and hunger. Most of 
these persons were advanced in years, and were 
about fifty in number : only one lady was of the 
party, — ^her name was Dona Rosorio de Rosales, 
and to her eternal honour be it mentioned, she 
solicited, and with great difficulty obtained per- 
mission to accompany her father, who was up- 
wards of seventy years of age. These exiles were 
not allowed to hold any correspondence with 
their families in Chile, and they endured the most 
trying privations during their banishment to this 
hitherto uninhabited island *. 

* This is the island upon which the fabled Robin- 
son Crusoe was cast. 

M 



162 



THE REVOLUTION. 



An infamous monster of cruelty, called Sam- 
bruno, was one of Osorio's chief panders to the 
plunder and massacre of the unfortunate citizens 
of Santiago. He murdered with his own hand 
many patriots, confined in the prisons, under pre- 
tence that they were about to rise and make their 
escape*. 

* This wretch equalled Marat in cold-blooded bar- 
barity, and the disgusting actions he was guilty of in 
mutilating his victims, were only worthy of the filthy 
demagogues of the French revolution. He was taken 
prisoner at the battle of Chacabuco, and gent into San- 
tiago upon a jackass with his back foremost, the popu- 
lace pelting him, as he passed along, with stones, mud, 
and filth, so that he was glad to avoid their farther re- 
sentment in the recess of a dungeon. In a few days 
he was condemned to die for murder, and was dragged 
to the scaffold, upon a hurdle, crying like a child, and 
displaying that imbecility which is almost invariably 
evinced by tyrants and oppressors, whose cruelty is 
generally only equalled by their cowardice. His face 
presented a dreadful picture, for one eye had been 
nearly knocked out by the populace, and when the ex- 
ecutioner took off the bandage, he uttered an agonizing 
shriek, which, however, only excited the derision of 
the crowd. He was hanged in the morning and cut 
down at sunset. 



THE REVOLUTION. 



Osorio was succeeded as Captain-general of 
Chile by His Excellency Don Marco del Pont, a 
Spanish gentleman, who was distinguished by the 
usual characteristics of a South American gover- 
nor — deceit, rapacity, and cruelty. He remained 
at the head of affairs until San Martin invaded 
and took Chile, after the battle of Chacabuco, 
when he was made prisoner and sent to the depot 
of San Luis in the Pampas, where he remained 
many years. 

General San Martin had been elected Supreme 
Director by the liberated and grateful Chileans, 
but he declined that honour in favour of Don 
Bernardo O'Higgins, who was a native of the 
country, and not likely to create that jealousy 
which a foreign military chief, possessed of sove- 
reign sway, might perhaps excite; San Martin, 
however, retained the command of the combined 
armies of the Andes, and was generalissimo of all 
the forces in the country. 

The royalists still kept possession of the strongly 
fortified town of Talcahuano, in the south of 
Chile, which, with Valdivia, were the only strong 

M 2 



164 



THE REVOLUTION. 



holds left them after the decisive battle of Chaca- 
buco. General O'Higgins laid close siege to Tal- 
cahuano, by land, but the sea side was open to 
the Spaniards, who possessed several vessels of 
war. 

An active correspondence was kept up between 
the patriots of Chile and Peru, and the way was 
paving for throwing off the Spanish yoke in the 
latter country. 

Such was the political state of affairs upon my 
arrival in South America, towards the end of the 
year 1817. There was still a large Spanish party 
in Chile, and most of them were people of consi- 
derable wealth, but the exactions levied upon 
them, on account of their political principles, 
quickly stripped them of their gold, and pre- 
vented them from exercising the influence which 
that formidable metal can usually effect. The 
patriot army was in high glee after the battle of 
Chacabuco, and thought themselves invincible ; 
they spoke with contempt and derision of the 
Spaniards, and the officers boasted that, before 
the end of the next year, they would dance in 
Pizarro's palace in Lima. 



165 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Journey to Valparaiso, O^Higgins. Casa Blanca, 
Pacific Ocean, Description of Valparaiso. Chileno 
Ball, Mode of Business, Mackays Cruise, 

I HAD scarcely been ten days in Santiago when a 
letter from Captain Warner announced to me the 
arrival of the Catalina, with my cargo, in Valpa- 
raiso. I accordingly prepared for a journey to 
that port, and, having hired a guide, we took our 
departure early in the morning, intending to sleep 
at Casa Blanca, twenty leagues distant. 

At the entrance to Santiago, on the Valpa- 
raiso road, is an obelisk erected to the honour of 
O'Higgins, the father of the present general *. 

* He may be said to have been the most useful man 
Chile ever possessed ; he has left monuments of natural 
energy and taste which will immortalize his name 
whilst the country stands. He was an Irishman by 
birth, and entered Chile a young commercial adven- 



166 



ROAD TO VALPARAISO. 



The road for seven leagues is flat^ and the first 
part is over a sandy plain. The haciendas, or 
farms^ are enclosed with a high mud wall, co- 
vered at the top mth a thatch of grass and hur- 
dles, to prevent the walls from being crumbled 

turer. He resided in Santiago for many years, and by 
his prudence and industry amassed a very considerable 
fortune and gained the general good will of the inha- 
bitants. Upon one occasion, when the Captain-general 
died, O'Higgins was chosen commandant, pro tern. 
but his government gave such general satisfaction to 
the court of Spain, that he was afterwards made Vice- 
roy of Peru. He projected the Tajamar, or dyke, 
which protects the town from the inundations of the 
river Mopocho, but his greatest undertaking was car- 
rying a waggon-road over two high cuestas, or moun- 
tains, between Santiago and Valparaiso. He also made 
the road between Lima and Callao, and was, in fact, 
a general benefactor to the country and people. He 
was a rare example of a disinterested South American 
governor, and his conduct formed a bright contrast 
to that of many others sent out from the peninsula, who 
had only their own mercenary interests in view. His 
memory is still held dear by the natives, and is never 
mentioned by any party but with feelings of respect 
and gratitude. 



CUESTA DE PRADO. 



167 



when the heavy rains take place ; foi;, excepting 
at those periods, the climate is so dry, that the 
walls endure for many years. This road was as 
destitute of any appearance of traffic as those on 
the Cordillera side, and would certainly give a 
stranger no idea of the population of the capital ; 
all the individuals we met were some peasants 
taking grass upon horses into the town, and a 
few muleteers. 

After passing the river Puraguel, four leagues 
distant from the capital, we got to the foot of the 
Cuesta de Prado, which would, in Europe, be 
called a mountain of considerable size, but, com- 
pared with the Andes, it shrinks into insignifi- 
cance. At the top of this Cuesta, I had the finest 
view of the Cordillera I had yet enjoyed, for 
they are much higher on the Chile side than 
on the eastern one. I was, however, already so 
familiarised with the sight of these magnificent 
mountains, that they did not impress me with 
that astonishment which would strike a stranger 
on his first approaching from the sea. No one 
has ever passed the Cuesta de Prado, from Val- 



168 



CUESTA DE PRADO. 



paraiso, without expressing his delight and wonder 
at this particular prospect. This Cuesta is a me- 
morable instance of the genius of O'Higgins ; it is 
a road cut for carriages^ and on the Valparaiso side 
contains thirty-three zig-zag turnings ; it is broad 
enough for two waggons to pass at a time. There 
is no railing, and the wheels sometimes pass so 
near the edge of the road, and the vehicles are so 
clumsy, that a stranger expects every moment to 
see the whole cumbrous machine, with its team of 
oxen, fall over the perpendicular cliiF. The first 
post from Santiago is called Bustamante, which is 
estimated at eleven leagues distance, I may here, 
however, remark, that the distances throughout 
South America are all very far from being calcu- 
lated with accuracy. They are measured by the 
gallop of a horse in the Pampas, and as the na- 
tives have little idea of geometry, they sometimes 
make most provoking mistakes. For instance, 
they will often reckon a distance four leagues as 
six, and when you expect, what they term a posta 
corta, or short post, of five leagues, it is probable 
you will find it eight. 



CUESTA DE ZAPATA. 



169 



The hills, at this time of the year, look brown 
and bare, the stunted shrubs, which are thinly scat- 
tered on their sides, being burnt up by the heat of 
the sun, but the aloe and prickly pear abound on 
the mountains in this part of Chile, and grow to 
a considerable size, which stamps the scenery as 
characteristic of the New World. 

It is only in particular valleys that vegetation 
thrives, but, as if to compensate for the barrenness 
of the surrounding country, these vales are dou- 
bly fertile; the soil is very rich and loamy, and 
requires comparatively little of the agriculturist's 
care. Chile is deficient in a supply of water ; but 
the atmosphere is so delightful and so favourable 
to almost every kind of culture, that were the 
whole country well irrigated, it would be capable 
of being made the granary of all South America. 

From Bustamante to Casa Blanca, the distance 
is nine leagues, and, about half way betv/een 
them, the road crosses the Cuesta de Zapata. 
This cuesta is cut into turnings, similar to that of 
Prado, but it is not so high as the latter. From 
the top of the Cuesta de Zapata is a view of the 



170 



CASA BLANCA. 



road^ extending in a straight line^, for nine miles, 
and the prospect is terminated by the chm'ch stee- 
ple of Casa Blanca. The eflPect of this is pretty- 
in such a wild country; looking down the road, 
from Windsor Park to the castle, will give some 
faint idea of it. Early in the morning the plain 
is covered with mists, which the rising sun dispels, 
and it rolls away in clouds, which have the ap- 
pearance of a sea. It is worth a traveller's while 
to stand at the top of the Zapata, at sunrise, to 
witness this. 

The straight road commences at the moun- 
tain's base; it lies through one of those fertile 
valleys, which abound in corn, vegetables, and 
fruits. 

The village of Casa Blanca is small, and its in- 
habitants are few ; but they are a civil and oblig- 
ing people. 

Not to weary my reader with a description of 
every village I passed through, I shall here give 
an account of one, which may serve for all that I 
ever saw in Chile. A square is in the centre of 
the village, and in it usually stands the principal 



GASA BLANCA. 



171 



church; the streets run at right angles; the 
houses are only one story high^ built of mud, and 
generally whitewashed, with roofs of red tile or 
thatch. The doors of these dwellings are cum- 
brous and rude, sometimes they are painted a 
dirty red colour, but mostly they are quite un- 
adorned; the windows are without glass, and are 
protected by perpendicular bars of iron. The 
interior is dirty, with a brick or mud floor ; one 
side of the room is elevated a foot from the 
ground, with a carpet upon it, this is called the 
estrada. The inside walls have once been white- 
washed, and a few small pictures, painted on 
glass, and of no value, of saints, or martyrs, are 
sometimes hung against them; upon a sort of 
pier table, dressed like an altar, is an image of 
our Saviour on the cross; one or two low tables, 
with a few old-fashioned chairs and benches, com- 
plete the furniture. 

The females are generally seated on the 
estrada, dressed in a loose cotton gown, without 
stockings, and a Bayeta scarf, or woollen shawl, 
wrapped round their shoulders. They never rise 



172 



VALPARAISO. 



when a stranger enters, unless it be a lady, but 
they utter, in a disagreeable singing tone, Beso v 
las manos cavallero *, apparently without giving 
you any welcome. However, this is only the eti- 
quette of the country, and the first impression of 
their coldness soon wears off. The men are also 
very civil ; they are dressed in velveteen, or coarse 
cloth, with ponchos, and large straw hats; they 
are constantly smoking their cigarfos de ojos o de 
papelf, and they have always the politeness to 
hand you one ; but if you do not know how to fold 
and smoke it, they will sometimes wink at their 
neighbour, and think you a ckamhon, (a know- 
nothing.) 

The hostess makes a gourd of mate, and after 
sucking half of it herself, honours you with the re- 
mainder ; and you must instantly put the hot bom- 
billa, or tube, to your mouth, (although it has re- 
cently been between the lips of the whole com- 

* I kiss your hands, cavalier. 

f Cigars wrapped in paper, or the leaf of Indian 
com. 



VALPARAISO. 



173 



pany,) or it would be deemed an insult. In my 
eagerness to manifest my good breeding and ap- 
proval of their customs^ I more than once scalded 
my mouth, to the great amusement of the com- 
pany. 

Casa Blanca, at this time, contained no tavern, 
and I slept the first night at the house of the 
alcalde. I remember meeting a fat English gen- 
tleman here, newly arrived from Valparaiso; we 
slept in the same room, upon the mud floor, which 
swarmed with fleas, to whose attentions he was 
not so accustomed as myself. 

In the middle of the night I was awakened by 
his outcries ; he said he was devoured by the fleas, 
and in an agony, he sprang on his feet, exclaim- 
ing, with great emphasis, — 

" Was it for this I left my father's house ? 

" O that he were here to write me down an ass." 

And I silently concurred in his quotation. 

The next morning we proceeded on our jour- 
ney to the port, twelve leagues from Casa Blanca; 
the road is slightly hilly for about half the way. 



174 



VALPARAISO. 



and then it crosses a plain of four leagues, which 
is as barren as usual. Having passed this plain, 
we arrived at Cuesta del Puerto, and having 
ascended to the top, we came suddenly in view of 
the great Pacific Ocean. 

The eminence upon which we stood was several 
hundred feet above the sea, which washed, un- 
seen, the base of the precipice beneath us- 

There is something at first sight of the 
mighty Pacific, which is enchanting: it is men- 
tioned with interest by almost every traveller; 
in me it seemed to re-create feelings and ideas 
of times gone by. All the visions of romance 
of earliest youth were suddenly reflected back, 
upon perceiving it outstretched before me, in 
one broad and blue expanse, like a glittering 
mirror shining in the sun. Not a sail to be seen, 
nor the foam of a wave, nor aught to shake its 
dread tranquillity," its waters lay slumbering as 
calmly as on the first day of their discovery. I 
thought of Cusco's Temple of the Sun ; of Lima, 
with its silver gates. The Incas, Pizarros, and 
Almagros, returned to my mind, half realized, at 



VALPARAISO. 



175 



tills first sight of the oceaoj v/hich had been the 
scene of their exploits. 

The policy of Spain kept away from these seas 
every flag but her own, and their waves had sel- 
dom been disturbed, except by Buccaneers, or by 
men like our own wild and adventurous Drake, 
whose once formidable name has now dwindled 
into a by-word, to frighten children. The Chi- 
lean and Peruvian mothers on the coast, when 
trying to hush their babes, cry " aqui viene 

Valparaiso Bay is in full view from the top of 
the Cuesta del Puerto, but the town itself is not 
visible until you come close upon it, being hidden 
by steep clifls at its back. This town is built 
upon a narrow strip of sand, which is at the base 
of the mountain; in one part, the ground only 
admits of one street, which skirts the beach, and 
has but one row of houses ; these have a fine pros- 
pect of the beautiful bay. The space of ground, 

* Here comes Drake. Sir Francis Drake destroyed 
almost every town and village on the coast. 



176 



VALPARAISO. 



called Almendral, however^ is considerable^ and 
numerous huts are built upon it, inhabited by 
the lower class of people. Wliat a different view 
did Valparaiso present to the stranger in 1817 to 
what it now affords. Eleven years ago there were 
only two English residents in the whole port, and 
now there are about two thousand. Lastra was 
the governor at that time. The town is pro- 
tected by two forts, but neither of them of any 
considerable size or strength. Fort St. Antonio 
is the most considerable. The bay is broad, but 
not very safe for shipping ; it is open to the north, 
and when it blows hard from that quarter consi- 
derable damage is frequently done; sometimes 
the water inundates a part of the town. 

A large crucifix pointed out the spot where a 
Spanish frigate had been wrecked, and all on 
board had perished; this was on the rock close to 
the beach, and between the town and the Almen- 
dral. 

At the time I speak of there were only half a 
dozen merchant ships in the bay, and three of 
them belonged to New York. His Britannic 



VALPARAISO. 



177 



Majesty's ship Amphion, Commodore Bowles, 
was here at anchor. I was astonished to 
find the chief port in Chile on so small a 
scale. The inhabitants appeared very few, and 
they were as listless and quiet as in any small 
fishing village. The Custom House had nothing 
to do, and I opined that it would be some time 
before my cargo could be disposed of in a country 
which seemed throughout so destitute of popula- 
tion. However, I proceeded to land the cargo, 
and an account was taken by the custom-house 
officers, of the number of packages; these were 
not opened, but sent, under seal, to the Custom- 
House of Santiago. Mules were hired to convey 
them to their destination, and two hundred and 
fifty of these animals, with each a couple of pack- 
ages on his back, were soon seen, in single file, 
climbing slowly up the zig-zag road, leading to 
the capital. 

The square, at Valparaiso, has the fort on one 
side, in which the governor has apartments : the 
market is also held in this square, and is well sup- 
plied with meat of all kinds (except veal) and 



178 



VALPARAISO. 



poultry, game, vegetables, and fruits, in abun- 
dance, come from the beautiful valley of Qin- 
lota, which is considered the richest of any in 
the whole province. Provisions were very cheap 
at that time, but since the influx of so many fo- 
reigners, the prices have increased in proportion : 
indeed, wherever the English make their appear- 
ance abroad, they seem to possess the peculiarity 
of raising the price of provisions, as they generally 
pay what is demanded; yet without exciting that 
additional respect for liberality which they often 
appear to aim at. 

There were very few families of great respecta- 
bility who had houses in Valparaiso, when I was 
in that city. 

A ball was given, one night, at the governor 
Lastra's, to which I was invited, and amongst the 
guests was Colonel Alvarado. The ladies were not 
such as would be found in first-rate society in San- 
tiago, but as it would have been impossible to 
have made up a ball without them, a rather ex- 
tended invitation had been issued; yet such is 
the natural grace of these people, that they ac- 



VALPARAISO. 



179 



quitted themselves extremely well, and looked 
very like their betters. I remember one of the 
officers of the Amphion frigate, who was there, 
telling me, that his partner had asked him, after 
the dance, if he had yet engaged a washer-woman, 
at the same time offering her own services, should 
he not be provided with one. 

The population of Valparaiso were estimated 
then at about six thousand, but, at the present 
day, it has increased to nearly double that number. 

The sea-breeze continues during part of the 
night, till about ten in the morning, when a strong 
land-breeze sweeps down the hills, and vessels 
can then go out, with both certainty and safety. 
The cliffs around the port are high, and in some 
places almost perpendicular, with a heavy swell 
and surf foaming below, A number of whales 
are often seen disporting in the bay, and whiten- 
ing the waters with their gambols. I have some 
times seen one of these Leviathans of the deep 
throw himself half out of the water. 

At this period, about twenty-five idlers and 
seamen, most of them English or North Ame- 

N 2 



180 



VALPARAISO. 



ricans, finding their fortunes desperate, purchased 
an old crazy barge, which was scarcely large 
enough to contain them all, and in this slender 
skiff, ventured to run down the coast of Peru, in 
search of adventures. Their plan was to attempt 
to cut out some rich Spanish vessel in the interme- 
diate ports, or perish in the attempt. Every 
body thought this a forlorn hope, and the vessel 
was named the Death or Glory." William 
Mackay, a Scotch mariner, was the chief of this 
determined band. 

They could hardly muster sufficient money 
to purchase a few stores for their enterprize, and 
were so closely packed in the boat, that it was 
impossible for them to move a single step. I was 
riding on the signal hill, which overlooks Valpa- 
raiso, at a height of some hundred feet, when I 
perceived their barge stealing slowly out of the 
bay. It was a gloomy afternoon, and the reflec- 
tion of the clouds, upon the Pacific, gave the 
ocean a livid blue appearance. 

I could not help contemplating the fate of this 
bold and desperate crew, who thus devoted their 



VALPARAISO. 



181 



lives to what seemed almost certain destruction. 
From that moment they appeared cut off from the 
rest of the world. 

" Nor friends upon the lessening strand 
" Linger'd to wave the unseen hand, 
" Or speak the farewell, heard no more;' — 
" But lone, unheeded, from the ba}' 
" The vessel takes its mournful way, 
" Like some ill-destin'd bark." 

But lo, the event! One fine morning, about six 
weeks afterwards, when it was blowing a top-gal- 
lant breeze, a stately ship, under a cloud of can- 
vass, came sailing into harbour, and dropped her 
anchor opposite the fort. When the visit boat 
went out, the officer, upon boarding her, was sur- 
prised to find Mackay and his comrades in pos- 
session of the ship. She was a Spanish ship, of 
four hundred tons burden, called the Mercurio. 
Her cargo was valued at three hundred thousand 
dollars. She had just arrived from Cadiz, and 
was the first vessel that had been captured from 
the Spaniards since the revolution ; she was after- 
wards purchased by the Chilean government for 
a transport. 



182 VALPARAISO. 

The adventurers in their frail bark had coasted 
along, aided by the current which constantly sets 
from south to north, until they came ofiP Arica, 
where they discovered a large vessel in the har- 
bour, and, waiting until night-fall, they ran 
quietly alongside, with muffled oars, and boarded 
her so suddenly, that the watch was taken by sur- 
prise, and the crew, after a slight resistance, in 
which several Spaniards were killed, betook them- 
selves to the boat, or jumped overboard, and 
swam to shore. The boarders then cut the cable, 
and running the ship out of the range of the bat- 
tery, which had opened a heavy fire on the first 
alarm being given, they soon got safe to sea. 

Having despatched my business in Valparaiso, 
I returned to the capital, to superintend the dis- 
posal of the cargo. The duties, at that period, 
were thirty-five per cent, ad valorem^ which is re- 
gulated by the fiscal and administrador, two of 
the chief custom-house officers. 

Formerly, these gentlemen were sometimes sus- 
ceptible of being bribed to place a lower valua- 
tion on the goods than the market price, but per- 



VALPARAISO. 



183 



sons of character and integrity have since become 
more sought after, and, upon one occasion, where 
a bribe was offered, a merchant nearly lost the 
whole of a valuable cargo, in consequence of the 
administrador reporting him to the authorities ; 
and it was with the greatest finesse and difficulty 
that he saved it, although the exertion was aided 
by many bribes. My consignee having de- 
spatched the cargo at the custom-house, Cholo 
porters conveyed the whole to our warehouse, 
which was immediately filled with all the shop- 
keepers in the town, and the sales commenced. 
Few of the shopkeepers had ready money to 
any amount, and most of them were so poor, that 
it was absolutely necessary to give them credit, 
from two to four months. A new era was com- 
mencing in the trade of Santiago; formerly, 
a whole cargo was sold off on the instant, by 
some opulent Spanish merchant paying cash 
down for it; but the revolution had swept most 
of these merchants away, and even such as pos- 
sessed capital, were afraid to come into the mar- 
ket, lest the government should confiscate their 



184 



VALPARAISO. 



money, on account of their politics ; they were, 
therefore, anxious to conceal their dollars, which 
they frequently buried in their gardens, or about 
their houses. My cargo was, consequently, obliged 
to be disposed of in small lots, according to the 
means and credit of the shopkeepers, some of 
whom only took one case, and even wished for a 
still smaller quantity, — but this was not allowable 
in a wholesale concern. 

In the first week, about one half of the cargo 
was sold at good prices, but, after that period, 
nothing could be duller than the sales by small 
quantities, and it was a whole year before the en- 
tire stock was disposed of. During that twelve- 
month, a number of vessels arrived, direct from 
England, and, after disposing of the prime of their 
cargoes, were placed in a similar situation with 
ourselves ; frequently days, and even weeks passed 
without a purchaser entering the warehouse. 
The difficulties incident upon business in South 
America are much greater then people in England 
usually imagine: for instance, if a bill falls due, 
should the party not be able to meet it, he has no 



VALPARAISO. 



185 



hesitation in telling you that he cannot pay ; and, 
should you proceed to the Cahildo, or Board of 
Trade, to compel him to do so, the members of 
that body are so lenient, that they generally allow 
the payer his own time. Some of the board are 
precisely in the same predicament with the party 
complained of, being themselves shopkeepers, and 
owing monies, for purchases. 

Should you proceed to lay an embargo upon a 
debtor's warehouse, all persons who can prove any 
of the goods to have belonged to them, can take 
them from the premises; consequently, in the 
event of your own having been disposed of, you 
get nothing for your pains, unless you find ready 
money. This system of trade is indispensable, 
though so full of risks ; for should you think to 
effect all your sales for cash only, a long life 
would not afford time for the disposal of a large 
cargo. The lax system of the laws relative to 
credit, and their usual leaning towards the debtor, 
places a seller, as it were, at the honour or 
mercy of the buyer. I have been thus explicit, 
in consequence of t)ie repeated complaints from 



186 



VALPARAISO. 



England, relative to the tardy state of remit- 
tances from South America, there being a natural 
suspicion, that it is for the benefit of their agents, 
to delay the returns, and appropriate the money 
of their consigners, for a time, to their o^^noL private 
speculations. Instances of this nature certainly 
have occurred, yet I do not believe the practice is 
general ; and houses of character and respectabi- 
lity, that have always shown a most eager desire to 
forward what monies they had collected in, have 
unfortunately, when their purchasers have become 
insolvent, had to share in the different surmises, 
which are rather unscrupulously dealt out by some 
manufacturers and shippers, and which have, on 
several occasions, proved seriously injurious. 

Soon after Mackay's return from his successful 
cruize, I received a letter from my agent in Val- 
paraiso, stating that Mackay was disposed to pur- 
chase the Catalina for a privateer, and as she was 
lying idle in Valparaiso, and no return cargo of- 
fering, I went down to that port for the purpose of 
disposing of her. She was admirably adapted for 
a marauder, being a remarkably swift sailer, and 



VALPARAISO. 



187 



pierced for twelve guns. After some difficulty^ 
we arranged for the price of eighteen thousand 
dollars^ at which sum I sold her, for the benefit 
of her owners, being a clear profit of almost treble 
her cost in London, a few months before. 

The sale of the brig having been duly effected, 
I got the register cancelled by Commodore 
Bowles, and gave it to Mr. Warner, to re- 
turn to London with. The Catalina was then 
re-christened, and named " La Fortuna," and the 
formality of delivering her over having been gone 
through, the English ensign was hauled down, 
and the New Chilean naval flag hoisted in its 
stead, under a salute from the privateer, Mackay 
paid the amount for the Catalina several weeks 
before it was due. 

It was ludicrous to see the sailors, who had 
accompanied Mackay, most of whom had five 
thousand dollars each for his own share of the 
prize. Money was of no value to them, and the 
doubloons were scattered about Valparaiso with 
the most reckless prodigality. It was not uncom- 
mon for a sailor to purchase, from a Guaso, who 



188 



VALPARAISO. 



had come from the country, his horse, bridle, and 
saddle, just as they were, and for which he, of 
course, gave double the value to the owner in 
cash. Jack having struck this bargain, would 
make the former master dismount, and, getting 
on the horse, would ride the poor creature about 
the beach at a gallop, until both horse and 
rider were tired; Jack would then dismount, and 
turn the animal " adrift," by which means the 
original owner frequently regained possession 
of the horse, and rode home upon it, with the 
money he had received, as its value, still in his 
pocket. 

Our mate and a Scotch carpenter wishing 
to enter into the patriot privateer service, I ob- 
tained for the first the situation of lieutenant, and 
for the other, that of first prize-master. 

Mr. Partridge, the mate, went on the cruize, 
and continued for some time in the service, but I 
never learnt what afterwards became of him. The 
Scotch carpenter's history is clearer; he was 
seemingly a remarkably religious man, and during 
our passage would, on a Sunday, sit for hours. 



VALPARAISO. 



189 



reading his Bible, on the bowsprit, apart from the 
rest of his less devotional companions. He was, 
I believe, part owner of a brig in Scotland. 

I was surprised, when this man came to me, at 
Valparaiso, and wished me to procure him a situ- 
ation on board the Catalina, in the event of her 
being sold for a privateer! I told him, that 
the Spaniards, if they caught him, would hang 
him at the yard-arm, without the benefit of 
clergy; but he asked, ^^D'ye think there's 
much siller to be had in these seas?" and upon 
my assuring him that I believed there was, he 
exclaimed — " That's the stuff I coom'd oot for, 
and I'll try my luck." Poor fellow ! his luck was 
none of the best, for, on the first cruize of La 
Fortuna, she captured a brig, north of Lima, and 
the carpenter was put on board as prize-master ; 
but, in passing near Callao, a Spanish sloop of 
war re-captured the brig, and carried the crew 
prisoners into Lima ; and the carpenter was two 
years immured in the dungeon of the fortress 
of San Felipe. 



190 



CHAPTER IX. 

Expedition from Spain, Retreat of O'Higgins, 
Junction of the Patriot Forces, Surprise at Can- 
charayada. Consternation of the Inhabitants of 
Santiago, §•€, 

In the short space of six months, the time I 
had continued in the country, that liberty, which 
had been considered so permanently established 
in Chile, had, owing to a single accident, almost 
ceased to exist, and the whole of that delightful 
country was again placed within the iron grasp 
of the beloved Ferdinand. 

An expedition from Spain, amounting to three 
thousand five hundred men, and composed of ve- 
terans who had distinguished themselves in the 
Peninsular war, arrived in Lima about the latter 
end of November, 1817, and having augmented 
their forces by the Peruvian troops in that capital. 



MILITARY OPERATIONS. 



191 



they re-embarked for Talcahudw in December, 
under the command of the Spanish General Os- 
sorio, whom I have mentioned as having previ- 
ously been Governor of Santiago. They landed 
at Talcahuano in January, 1818, and having still 
further increased their numbers by the garrison 
of that place, advanced, with an effective force of 
about six thousand men, upon the capital of 
Chile. O'Higgins had, some time before, made 
an unsuccessful attempt to carry Talcahuano by 
storm, and, in consequence of the heavy loss sus- 
tained on that occasion, received orders to retreat, 
and had, fortunately, commenced his march pre- 
vious to the arrival of the enemy. 

San Martin was encamped at Las Tahlas, or 
the high table-land, four leagues from Valpa- 
raiso, with a division of four thousand men, but, 
upon learning the advance of the enemy, he broke 
up his camp, and marched to join O'Higgins, in 
the south. These two generals effected the junc- 
tion of their forces about the latter end of Fe- 
bruary. Meanwhile, the royalists continued to 
advance with caution, and crossing the river 



192 



MILITARY OPERATIONS. 



Maule, occupied the town of Talca, a place of 
considerable size and importance. On the 13th 
of March, San Martin moved from his position 
at San Fernando, and advanced, M^ith his whole 
force, upon the enemy. His army consisted of 
nearly ten thousand good regular troops, the ca- 
valry alone amounting to almost two thousand. 

The royalist forces scarcely exceeded six thou- 
sand men, and they were deficient in cavalry; 
yet the European infantry had a decided advan- 
tage, in discipline and practice, to any in the pa- 
triot ranks. General Osorio had proceeded con- 
siderably in advance of Talca, but, upon ascer- 
taining the actual strength of the patriot army, of 
which he appeared to have been hitherto ignorant, 
he retired immediately upon that city. On the 
19th of March, the patriots came in sight of 
Talca, and a partial action took place, in which 
the cavalry only were engaged, and the enemy 
retreated near the town. The royalist army 
had drawn up before the city, and, about nine 
o'clock in the evening, some change of position 
was taking place among the patriot forces, when 



STATE OF SANTIAGO. 



the enemy^ favoured by the darkness of the 
night, surprised them, by a discharge of cannon 
and musketry. The attack was so sudden and 
unexpected, that a panic spread itself through the 
patriot ranks, and the confusion became so great, 
that it was impossible to present any opposition, 
so that, after a lapse of about fifteen minutes, this 
fine army was flying in all directions, and had 
abandoned every thing in the field ; thus placing 
the destinies of the country once more in the hands 
of the Spaniards. 

I was in Santiago when this event took place, 
and it was early on the Friday morning that Mon- 
teagudo, the advocate-general of the army, pass- 
ing through the town alone, in his flight towards 
Mendoza, first communicated tlie disastrous intel- 
ligence ; the consternation it created amongst all 
classes is impossible for me to describe. 

The inhabitants flocked into the great square 
before the government house, making the most 
eager inquiries, but there was no intelligence from 
head-quarters; however, the numerous fugitive 
officers and men who came into the town during 

o 



194 



STATE OF SANTIAGO. 



the day^ all in a state of dispersion, corrol)o- 
rated the news of a complete rout having taken 
place, and all chance of a stand being lost, as the 
enemy were in full march upon Santiago. On 
the Saturday morning, affairs wore a still more 
gloomy aspect ; no intelligence had been received 
from either San Martin, O'Higgins, or any other 
chief of distinction, and the conjecture was, that 
they were either killed or taken prisoners. The 
strangest reports were in circulation respecting 
them; some said that they had embarked near 
Valparaiso, and had gone out to sea; others, that 
they had crossed the Cordilleras ; at length, an 
eye-witness affirmed that he had seen San Mar- 
tin shoot himself upon the field of battle. In this 
distressing uncertainty all the patriots of property 
and political importance began to prepare for 
flight across the Cordilleras, and, packing up their 
plate and valuables, they marched towards the 
mountains. The streets were filled with cargo- 
mules, and carriages, conveying the emigrants, 
with their wives and families, from the city. The 
number that left the town for Mendoza was very 



STATE OF SANTIAGO. 



195 



great, and persons holding high situations under 
government were the first to depart. The con- 
tents of the coffers of the public treasury were 
packed into serons, but as these were not over- 
flowing at the time, a few mules only were re- 
quired to carry them. 

The scenes exhibited in the streets of Santiago 
became now truly heart-rending : the departure 
of so great a concourse of people, for a foreign 
country, perhaps never more to revisit their 
homes; groups of women, with tears in their 
eyes, and their hair dishevelled, wringing their 
hands, and displaying every mark pf the most 
acute distress ; the square constantly thronged 
by people of all ranks, eagerly inquiring the fate 
of their relations and friends in the army, of 
whom no satisfactory account could be had, — all 
formed a scene which the master hand of a pain- 
ter would scarcely be able to delineate faithfully : 
and, as the enemy were described to be in full 
march towards the town, I am certain that had 
fifty dragoons made their appearance, at this junc- 

o 2 



V 



196 



STATE OF SANTIAGO. 



ture, they would have been sufficient to have cap- 
tured the place — 

" While throng'd the citizens with terror dumb, 
" Or whispering, with white lips, — the foe ! they come ! 
they come !" 

The Spanish party, in the city, did not care to 
conceal their joy, and more than once I heard a 
solitary cry of " Viva el Reij *^ in the streets. At 
length, after a dreadful state of suspense, the 
long wished-for intelligence arrived from San 
Martin, written from San Fernando, containing 
the unexpected and pleasing account, that the 
right wing of the army, consisting of about three 
thousand men, commanded by the brave Colonel 
Las Heras, had remained unbroken during the 
night attack of Cancharayada ; that officer had led 
it off the field in good order, and San Fernando was 
the rendezvous of the dispersed and flying. This 
information Don Luis de la Cruz read publicly in 
the Plaza ; San Martin's own letter was shown to 
the people, to convince them of its truth ; universal 
joy was now created, and the hopes of the patriots 



MANUEL llODRIGUES. 



197 



began to revive. The active and zealous Manuel 
Rodrigues took upon himself to join Cruz in the 
command, and rode about in all directions, ha- 
ranguing and re-assuring the people. 

Rodrigues, upon assuming the government, 'pro 
tem. endeavoured to prevent the evil of every ci- 
tizen abandoning his post in the hour of danger, 
and only seeking an ignominious flight, when the 
liberty of his country w^as at stake; he counter- 
manded all the public property to Santiago, and 
set guards in the passes of the Andes, to prevent 
its transportation across the mountains. The chief 
of the patriots, however, had by this time left the 
city, and were on their way across the Cordilleras. 
One gentleman burnt his calesa, or coach, at the 
foot of the Andes, that it might not fall into the 
hands of the royalists, so certain was he that no 
effective opposition could be made to their en- 
trance into Santiago. A kind of apathy now ap- 
peared to reign amongst the inhabitants ; and the 
comparatively deserted state of the streets, and 
the mournful silence that prevailed, seemed to 
indicate that the people were anxiously awaiting 



198 



GENERAL OFFICERS. 



their doom; it resembled that stilhiess in the air 
which is sometimes the precm'sor of a thunder 
storm. Most of the houses were shut up, for the 
public authorities were hardly sufficient to keep 
the lower orders in subjection ; indeed^, several 
shops had been plundered in open day. It 
was during this state of things that O'Higgins 
came into the city, on the Wednesday, accompa- 
nied by many of the chief officers, amongst w^hom 
were General Quintana and Colonels Necochea, 
Zapiola, Melian, and Martinez. They all assem- 
bled in a private house, belonging to the mdow 
of Mackenna*, and the assembly was mournful 
enough; the officers had not changed their clothes 
since the night of the surprize, yet they immedi- 
ately held a council for the public safety. I was 
in the room at the time ; INIanuel Rodrigues spoke 
^^dth his usual animation, in the highest hope that 
a successful battle might be fought before the 
town. O'Higgins, who had been badly wounded 

* General Mackenna was killed in a duel, a short 
time before, by Liiis Carrera. 



ARRIVAL OF SAN MARTIN. 



199 



in the arm by a musket ball, was again entrusted 
with the directorship^ and this event was made 
known by the sound of cannon. On the follow- 
ing afternoon, San Martin arrived, accompanied by 
Colonel Paroissien and Captain O'Brien, his chief 
aid-de-camp, which was likewise proclaimed by a 
salute of artillery in the great square. I was in 
the palace when the commander-in-chief ap- 
peared; he seemed much fatigued, and was co- 
vered with dust. He had not taken off his clothes 
or even his boots for many days; yet, notwith- 
standing his exhausted state, he was in good spi- 
rits. The palace was crowded to excess by the 
citizens, who thronged to make eager inquiries 
about him. Do not despair," said the general, 
" La Patria still exists, and shall triumph ;" these 
words gave fresh hopes, and the drooping spirits 
of the independents began to rally. 

As the scattered troops had been pouring in 
for some days, they were collecte(| by the officers, 
and re-organized in the several barracks, and or- 
ders were given to encamp the wreck of the pa- 
triot army two leagues from the town. On Sun- 



200 



CAPTAIN MILLER. 



day, the 29th of March, Colonel Las Heras, who 
had acted with so much coolness and bravery, in 
checking the enemy on the night of the 19th, 
marched into the camp at the Molina, with three 
thousand two hundred men. 

All the principal English were, on this day, 
dining at the house of Mr. John Begg, and, 
during dinner. Captain Miller *, who had arrived 
with the division of Las Heras, came in; he was 
a captain of artillery, and had had the fortune to 
save the only field-piece of the Buenos Ayres artil- 
lery which the patriots brought off the ground. 
The captain told us, that the late disaster was 
only owing to a panic which had seized the troops, 

but," said he, they will rally and fight the 
better to retrieve their glory." 

A large column of dust, which was observed to 
be approaching the town, again threw the inha- 
bitants into consternation, they supposing it to 
be caused by the enemy's advanced guard, but it 
proved to be only a large drove of mules, which, 

* Now General Miller. 



CONDUCT OF THE SPANIARDS. 201 

with their patriot proprietors, were retreating 
from the enemy. It will be here proper to no- 
tice the movements of the Spaniards on the night 
of the 19th, as it will naturally be asked, why 
they did not profit by tlie signal success of their 
nocturnal surprize. They were prevented from 
so doing by two circumstances: firstly, on that 
night, two of their columns had advanced in 
separate divisions, and having commenced the 
attack upon the patriot troops, w^ere opposed 
for some minutes by the eighth regiment of 
Blacks; the night being extremely dark, on this 
force retreating, the two royalist divisions closed, 
as they thought, to take their foe in flank, but 
meeting, and mistaking their own troops for the 
enemy, commenced a sharp firing upon each other, 
which continued for some time. This threw 
them into such confusion, that part of their army 
was actually in full retreat, and had crossed the 
river Maule, on the south side of Talca. Se- 
condly, the troops that remained on the field fell 
to plundering, which allowed Las Heras to lead 
off his division unbroken. 



202 



BRITISH MERCHANTS. 



Notwithstanding the presence of San Martin^ 
O'Higgins, and all the chiefs in the army, as 
well as the fine discipline of the troops of Las 
Heras, the circumstance of an arm.y of eleven 
thousand men having been defeated by a compa- 
ratively insignificant force, excited so many 
doubts as to the likelihood of the patriots finally 
beating the enemy, that every patriot civilian was 
more than usually concerned about his future 
safety. 

The English merchants, to the amount of about 
twenty, had a meeting, to determine w^hat con- 
duct to adopt in this unexpected state of affairs. 
A few months before, when the general patriotism 
was at its height, and every one was vying with 
his neighbour to show his love of liberty and de- 
testation of the troops of the tyrannical invader, 
the English merchants participated in the general 
enthusiasm. Upon one occasion, when the go- 
vernment was in want of money to pay the army, 
they most generously came forward with a dona- 
tion for that purpose, and each received a letter 
of thanks for his liberality. 



BRITISH MERCHANTS. 



203 



When the Spaniards commenced their march 
from Talcahuano, all the regular troops had 
taken the fields and we merchants had it in con- 
templation to form ourselves into a hody of ca- 
valry^ for the protection of our property and the 
tranquillity of the town. A meeting was held 
to deliberate upon this measure^, when it was 
agreed that a troop should be formed, and a 
very spirited and patriotic individual was pro- 
posed to be elected for our colonel. As far as 
I remember, however, the discusion was prin- 
cipally relative to what uniform would be the 
most imposing and becoming. One suggested 
that it should be something like that of the 
Black Brunswick Hussars, with the figure of a 
death's head and cross bones on the cap, but this 
was over-ruled, as being thought too gloomy. At 
last, I think, they decided that it should be a scar- 
let jacket, with yellow pantaloons, and a chako, 
with a white feather in it. This assembly never 
met again, for, as the advancing tide of war came 
rolling on, several discovered that their stomachs 
were not qualified for the science military," and 



204 



BRITISH MERCHANTS. 



they were contented to remain in that pacific line 
of life to which it had been decreed they should be 
called. It, however, now became imperative that 
something should be done for the general protec- 
tion. We had nothing to expect from the cle- 
mency of Osorio, should he take the capital ; in- 
deed, it had been intimated, that all foreigners 
who had interfered, either directly or indirectly, 
in selling arms, ammunition, or warlike vessels, 
should be shot, and all who were found trading 
in general, be sent in irons to Callao, and 
immured in the casemates. 

With such a prospect before us, the general vote 
was for crossing the Andes to Mendoza, as we had 
no British officer to intercede for us on behalf of 
our own government. Commodore Bowles had left 
the station in the preceding February, although 
he had been requested, by a deputation of his 
countrymen, to remain until the chances of a 
battle should be decided. He stated, that 
affairs of importance demanded his presence in 
the Brazils, the commodore asserting that there 
was not the slightest fear of the patriots be- 



BRITISH MERCHANTS. 



205 



ing defeated. Indeed^ in that opinion he was 
borne out by every man in the country, for 
the numbers of the patriot army, and the ge- 
neral enthusiasm of the troops, headed by such a 
chief as San Martin, caused none of us to consi- 
der ourselves in danger from the invaders. How- 
ever, the turn affairs had taken caused our body 
in general to look to their own personal safety, 
and the cry was for the Cordillera. As the 
property I had taken in charge w^as to a very 
large amount, I determined not to abandon it 
whilst there was any hope of securing it, so I dis- 
sented from the general voice^ as did, from the 
same motives, Mr. John J. Barnard and Mr. John 
Begg. We therefore resolved to remain until 
the enemy should obtain actual possession of the 
town. 

The departure of our English friends impressed 
the Chileno patriots with gloomy forbodings: 

You may depend," said they, " that it is all over 
with our cause, for the English v^ould never leave 
their property, whilst there was the least hope." 
I was standing in a balcony when my countrymen 



206 



THE MOB INSUBORDINATE. 



passed along the street, with their servants and 
baggage, all mounted, in a long line,— and out 
of the street and out of the town they filed, 
nor did they return until the storm of war was 
over. 

We were solitary enough after the departure 
of our friends, and as the rotos, or mob, were be- 
coming insubordinate, since the troops had all 
gone to the camp, we began to think of securing 
our property from their attacks. Accordingly, 
we proceeded to barricade our doors and win- 
dows, and kept the gates in front closed, to prevent 
a surprise from the canaille. We also armed our 
clerks and servants, and prepared for a siege. I 
introduced my horses and mules into the drawing- 
room, which I converted into a stable, to keep 
them out of sight of the centries on the fort of San 
Lucia, which stands on a high rock, and over- 
looks the gardens and courts of the adjacent 
houses; these valuable animals being so scarce, 
that the soldiers took all they could lay their 
hands upon, saying, as they led them away 
el uso del estaclo, senor.'" 



ANEGDOTE. 



207 



It was rather amusing to hear the vows and 
promises which were offered up to the several 
saints, should the patriot cause prevail, which 
they were earnestly implored to grant. The 
owner of the house I resided in, a very opulent 
and religious lady, came one morning, in her ca- 
lesa, and said, that in the oratory of the house 
there were a number of church ornaments and 
images, which she intended to offer to Neustra 
Senora de la Carmen, for the success of the pa- 
triot cause. She likewise required some looking- 
glasses, with silver frames, as a present, for the 
prayers of a convent ; but she left me a large pic- 
ture of the Virgin Mary, which, she said, would 
prove a protection to the house, as well as to my- 
self. Accordingly her servants having packed up 
her martyrs and mirrors, she took her leave, 
that she might offer them up at the several 
shrines. 

About the second day after our English friends 
had quitted the town, a Spaniard came to me 
privately, and said, " if you will make over what 
property you have in the house to me, and give 



208 



ANECDOTE. 



me a receipt for a large sum of money^ to show 
Osorio that I have pm'chased it, I have so much 
influence with that general, that, on my proving 
it mine by a document, I shall save it from con- 
fiscation. This will benefit both yourself and me, 
for in a few^ days you mil have no property, as 
the patriot cause is hopeless. I knovv' it is be- 
trayed by some of its chiefs. I mil give you 
fifteen thousand dollars in doubloons, and a cargo 
horse, to convey it away, therefore you have an 
excellent chance of saving a considerable sum of 
money, as well as your own life ; for the Spa- 
niards know that you have sold a privateer, with 
her guns and ammunition ; besides, you have arms 
now in the house." 

I listened with profound attention till he had 
finished his speech, and then replied, Aut Ccs- 
sar aut nullusl' which I explained to him, meant, 
* that I intended to save all or lose all, and would 
take my own chance for the consequences 

* The property in the house amounted to upwards 
of one hundred thousand dollars. 



AN OLD SPANIARD. 



209 



He opened his eyes wide at this refusal, and 
expressed his astonishment at my locura in 
thus rejecting so excellent an offer; but I told 
him that it was my misfortune to have a mode of 
thinking, which I fancied was peculiar to me, as I 
seldom had the happiness to agree with my 
neighbours, especially when the points were 
knotty. The don then cast his cloak around him 
and stalked off, shrugging up his shoulders, and 
marvelling much at my egregious stupidity. 

However, to leave no stone unturned for the 
salvation of the property, in the event of the Spa- 
niards gaining the day, I made out a fictitious 
bill of sale, and receipts for money to a large 
amount, and gave them to an old Spaniard of 
known and tried probity, Don Antonio Sol, toge- 
ther with the names of those to whom the goods 
belonged in London, so that should any thing 
happen to me, by the defeat of the patriots, he 
might cover the property with his own name, and 
take an opportunity of remitting its value in mo- 



* Folly, 
p 



210 



SALE OF ARMS. 



ney, by some British man of war, to the right- 
ful owners in England. 

Having thus done every thing in my power for 
the safety of the property, I began to think what 
to do for myself, and soon resolved that I would 
share the fate of the patriot army, and if, by its 
defeat, my mercantile prospects should vanish 

at one fell swoop," then, in the event of escape, 
I would enter into the republican service. 

What the Spaniard had said about there being 
arms in the house, was true enough, for there 
were about two thousand cavalry sabres in one of 
the rooms, and lest the cause might be in the pre- 
dicament described by my intelligent communi- 
cant, and the mob take - a fancy to arm them- 
selves, J went to the director, O'FIiggins, upon 
the subject, and requested that he would have 
the sabres deposited in the arsenal for safety. I 
said, should the battle be lost, I would not 
then consider the state responsible, provided 
that it would be content to keep them if the con- 
test terminated favourably. Having arranged 
the terms of this novel sale, the director sent his 



ADVANCE OF THE KOYALISTS. 



211 



adjutant, a guard of soldiers, and a baggage wag- 
gon, to take away the swords from my premises, 
on the same afternoon. 

The crisis was now fast approaching, as the 
royalists had advanced towards the plains of 
Majrpo, where the patriots awaited them. Whilst 
the enemy was at a distance, the officers had re- 
ceived permission to visit the town occasionally, 
and see their friends, but now the final sununons 
was issued for all of them to take their several 
stations at the head of their ranks. 

Many affecting and mournful farewells took 
place previous to the officers leaving for the camp, 
some having wives, and others tender attach- 
ments, in Santiago. 

" And flinty is her heart can view 
" To battle march a lover true, — 
" Can hear, perchance, his last adieu, 
" Nor own her share of pain.*' 

But here was no ffintiness of heart ; the kind, the 
gentle, the fascinating Chilenas really felt that 
grief which they unaffectedly expressed. And I 
must here take leave to contradict the impression 

p2 



212 



MORALS OF SANTIAGO. 



which some travellers have tried to instil into the 
public mind, relative to the state of morals in 
Santiago, particularly as regards the fair sex; 
it is untrue that this town is a demoralized place. 

Foreigners, upon first visiting it, are innoculated 
with that false notion by some of their own coun- 
trymen who have just arrived, and know nothing 
of the better class of society; but I think the 
most unanswerable argument in favour of the 
virtue of the female character in Santiago is, 
that most foreigners of respectability, French 
and English, have, after a residence for some 
time, selected a partner for life from amongst el 
hello sexo of the place ; and, on no occasion, as 
far as ever I heard of, has the husband had the 
least reason to repent his choice. I remember 
that, on my first arrival, some Englishmen, as ig- 
norant of the matter as I then was myself, told 
me the same story about the general immorality 
of Santiago, but I have subsequently seen several 
of them have reason to change their opinion, and 
confirm the change, too, by tying the matrimonial 
knot with some fair daughter of the land. 



213 



CHAPTER X. 

State of the Patriot Army. Native and Foreign 
Officers. General Brayher. O'Higgins, Night 
previous to the Battle. The Battle of Maypo* 
Total Defeat of the Spanish Army. 

The regiments were now re-organized, and, on 
the first of April, the patriot fo>ce consisted of 
four thousand seven hundred infantry, and eight 
hundred cavalry, all in very good plight, consi- 
dering their recent discomfiture, and as the army 
had been but lately new clothed, the troops had a 
fine military appearance. They had lost all their 
artillery at Cancharayada, but this loss had been 
replaced, for they had now two immense guns, 
drawn by oxen, besides a handsome park of ar- 
tillery. 

We used to ride out of an afternoon to see 



214 



CHIEF OFFICERS. 



the camp and our friends in the army^ and the 
silent and gloomy ferocity of the soldiers, par- 
ticularly the blacks, we construed into a favour- 
able omen for the cause of liberty. Their stern 
silence plainly indicated that they meant to 
deal fatally with the enemy; indeed, they had 
previously declared that they would neither give 
nor ask quarter. 

The chief officers, under the command of San 
Martin, were Generals Balcarce, Alverado, and 
Quintana; Colonels Las Heras, the two Esca- 
ladas, Martinez, Milian, Nicochea, Zapiola, and 
Blanco; Captains Lavalle*, Martinez, &c. be- 
sides many of inferior note, who had, upon se- 
veral occasions, distinguished themselves for their 
bravery ; there were also several foreign officers 
of merit, who had come from Europe to serve the 
cause of liberty; amongst these were Beauchef, 
D'Albe, Viel, Brandsom, Frenchmen; and 
O'Brien, Lowe, and Lebas, Britons. General 

* Now General Lavalle, who lately deposed and shot 
General Dorrego in Buenos Ayres. 



GENERAL BRAYHER, 



215 



Braylier, who had been a distinguished officer in 
the French service, and was rewarded by Buona- 
parte with the Legion of Honour, had till now had 
the command of the patriot cavalry; but, some 
dispute arising between him and the commander- 
in-chief, he solicited permission to retire from the 
army. As such a request, on the eve of battle, 
was considered rather inopportune, San Martin 
expressed to him, in no measured terms, his sur- 
prise, and after telling him he might go v\^hen he 
liked, concluded by saying — Senor General V. 
es un Carraco." 

We afterwards met General Brayher, with his 
aid-de-camp, in the Canada, on his road from the 
army, which he had quitted altogether, and went 
to the baths of Colina, five leagues from Santiago. 

On the 3rd of April, Mr. Barnard and myself 
visited the patriot camp for the last time. The 
army had moved from the Molina, close to the 
farm of the Espejo, about three leagues from San- 
tiago, and there awaited their enemy. 

That afternoon, the royalists crossed the river 
Maypo, and advanced on the plains. We saw. 



216 



GUERILLAS. 



at a distance^ tlieir bright arms gleaming in the 
setting smi. Small parties of cavalry were sent 
out from tlie patriot army to reconnoitre the 
enemy. During the advance of the Spaniards, 
which had been very leism'ely conducted. Guerilla 
parties were constantly hovering round their flank 
and rear, and a number of those troops were now 
skirmishing at a distance on the plain. 

It was nearly dark when Barnard and myself 
returned to Santiago; we had not gone half a 
league on the main route, before we met several 
skirmishers, with one man wounded ; they told us 
that an enemy's party were on the road, conse- 
quently, my friend and myself made a detour of 
about a league, and gained the to^\Ti by the Val- 
paraiso road. On the 4:th, skirmishing continued, 
otherwise nothing material occurred; and, at 
night, the royalists took up their position in front 
of the Espejo de Molina. 

It was on that night that I had an opportu- 
nity of witnessing the sang froid of O'Higgins : 
it was about nine o'clock, — the night was as 
dark as Erebus, and the town of Santiago was 



o'higgins. 



217 



under the greatest state of alarm, on account of 
the proximity of the enemy, — centinels were 
placed at every corner of the streets, the patrols 
were doubled, and deep trenches were dug at the 
bocas de called' or entrances of each street lead- 
ing from the Canada and the Valparaiso side of 
the town. 

The patriots were fearful that the Spaniards 
would again attempt a night attack, and surprise 
the town. Just at this period of suspense. Major 
D'Albe* arrived from the army, with intelli- 
gence, that a division of the enemy were ap- 
proaching the town, by the Valparaiso road, and 
that they would, in all probability, reach it in 
an hour and a half. There were no troops 
in the city but militia. I was at the pa- 
lace when this intelligence reached it, and the 
director was urged to seek safety in the patriot 
army ; he replied, " No ; I'll die here, and if they 
find me, it shall be at my post." 

* This was a son of Baron D'Albe, the keeper of 
the portefeuille to Napoleon. He was aid-de-camp to 
Marshal Soult in the Peninsular war. 



218 



EVE OF THE BATTLE. 



For my own part^ knowing the militia in the 
town, mostly shopkeepers, were so valorous, that 
they would as " lief hear the devil as a drum/* 
I resolved not to abide the issue of their fighting 
against regular troops, and, on returning home, 
ordered my horse to be in readiness, that, on the 
entre of the Spaniards, I might be oif to the camp. 
My horse being saddled and bolstered, in the front 
court, I lay down on the bed, dressed, awaiting 
the event. The time passed heavily, and rather 
anxiously, for I expected, every moment, that my 
ears would be saluted by the opening fire of the 
invaders* 

Quen vive" was reverberated through every 
street ; the centinels challenging the patrols and 
passengers. ''La Patria!'' '' Gente de Pa%!'' 
were the constant replies, and it would be diffi- 
cult for persons, who have never been in a similar 
situation, to conceive my feelings, on being quite 
alone at night, under such circumstances; my 
English friends, as well as myself, always sleeping 
in our respective houses, to protect them from 
street robbers; it may easily be supposed that I 



DAY OF THE BATTLE. 



219 



was sufficiently on the alert. Two hours elapsed 
in this disagreeable state of uncertainty^ and I was 
still stretched on my bed, awake, — ^but I had been 
harassed, both in mind and body, for some days 
previously, and was quite exhausted, so that, not- 
withstanding my endeavour to keep my eyes 
open, I at length fell into a deep sleep, from 
which I did not awaken till sunrise, when, look- 
ing out, I perceived my horse standing quietly 
near the door, and the town in a state of perfect 
tranquillity. 

It was Sunday morning, the 5th of April, the 
most delightful time of the year in Chile, not a 
cloud obscured the bright and everlasting blue of 
the sky; the birds were singing, and the frag- 
rance of the orange blossoms shed a delightful 
perfume in the breeze ; there was that balmy soft- 
ness in the air so peculiar to the clime; the 
church bells were ringing for mass, and a reli- 
gious feeling crept over the senses, in unison with 
the sanctity of the day; it seemed like sacrilege 
that such a holy quiet should be disturbed by the 
loud din of battle. 



220 



DAY OF THE BATTLE. 



Yet such I knew would be the case ; — therefore, 
having placed a change of linen and a blanket 
doubled in my cloak, and fastened them to my 
saddle, I armed myself with a brace of pistols and 
a sabre, mounted my horse, with only three dou- 
bloons* in my pocket, and proceeded to join my 
countrymen, Barnard and Begg. They were 
soon accoutred and armed like myself, and we 
then rode out of the town towards the patriot 
armyf . I really felt something like satisfaction 
in leaving the town that morning, as a few hours 
would put an end to the agonizing state of 
hope and dread which had alternately agitated 

* My consignee had gone to Mendoza when the 
English left the town, and taken with him the contents 
of the money chest, to save it; and, after his departure, 
I could sell nothing. 

f Major D'Albe's report, the preceding night, was 
correct, as far as it went. It was afterwards discovered 
that a division of the Spanish army had lost their way 
in the night, and had actually been upon the road to 
Santiago; but, finding out their error, they halted 
about nine o'clock, and rejoined the main body at day- 
break. 



MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 



221 



every one since the disaster at Cancharayada. 
Indeed, many of the inhabitants of Santiago had 
partially lost their reason. When we got on 
the open plain, about a league from the city, we 
heard the first sound of cannon, at distant inter- 
vals, but on reaching the patriot station, we 
found both armies hotly engaged, and the firing 
continued in one protracted roar. 

The movements, that morning, were as fol- 
lows : — 

As the dawn ushered in the decisive day, big 
with the fate" of liberty and Chile, the enemy 
were discovered marching from the Espejo, and 
by a flank movement, about to occupy the road 
to Santiago. Osorio's intention appears to have 
been, to place himself between the city and the 
patriot army, by which he expected to have con- 
siderably bettered his position. San Martin im- 
mediately put his army into motion, and ad- 
vanced towards the enemy, in close columns, and, 
by a rapid march, came upon them in time to 
frustrate this manoeuvre of occupying the main 
road. Osorio then halted, and took up his posi- 



222 



THE BATTLE. 



tion on the ridge of the hill^ in front of the farm 
of the Espejo^ in the following order : — 

Their right was occupied by the Burgos regi- 
ment, and their left by that of the Infantos of 
Don Carlos : the centre was composed of troops 
drafted in Peru and Conception; they were in 
close columns, flanked by four squadrons of dra- 
goons on the right, and a regiment of lancers on 
the left. The ground they occupied was the 
brow of a hill, extending about a mile, and on 
their extreme left was a little detached mound, 
upon which they had placed four pieces of can- 
non and about two hundred men. Their number 
amounted to upwards of six thousand. 

The patriot army was disposed in columns, as 
follows : — 

Their left was commanded by General Alve- 
rado ; the centre, by General Balcarce ; the right, 
by Colonel Las Heras; and the reserve, by Ge- 
neral Quintana. The action commenced about 
eleven o'clock ; it was opened by the patriot ar- 
tillery on the right; the cannonading was at inter- 
vals upon the ad^fancing left of the royalists ; and. 



THE BATTLE. 



223 



before twelve, the action had become general. 
As the Infantos of Don Carlos descended the hill, 
they were met by a very galling fire from the ar- 
tillery of Colonel Blanco, the effects of which were 
visible at each discharge, carrying destruction 
and dismay into their columns. The battle here 
was well contested, and remained a long time 
doubtful. Colonel Manuel Escalada, with a 
squadron of horse grenadiers, charged the small 
hillock, on which the four pieces of artillery were 
planted, and carried them; the guns were after- 
wards turned against their former masters. 

On the right, the royalists had the advantage ; 
the heavy and well-directed fire of the Burgos re- 
giment, threw the patriot left wing, which was 
composed chiefly of blacks, into confusion; and 
they were at last utterly dispersed, leaving 
four hundred men dead on the field. It was at 
this critical moment that the reserve, under 
Quintana, was ordered up. The Burgos had 
advanced so precipitately, that they had them- 
selves fallen partially into disorder, and had 
retreated some distance, in order to form. 



224 



THE BATTLE. 



when the patriot reserve advanced upon them, 
under a galling fire, which was served with ad- 
mirable precision and effect, and with as much 
regularity as if the troops had been on parade; 
this was certainly the most doubtful moment of 
the action, and so it was considered by Quintana, 
who, being reinforced by a squadron of cavalry of 
the grenaderos a Cavallo, gave the word to 
charge. 

The shock was tremendous, the firing almost 
instantly ceased, and the two parties crossed bay- 
onets. The repeated shouts of " Viva el Reij r 

Viva la Fatriar showed that every inch of 
ground was desperately contested, but from the 
smoke and dust, we hardly knew which side 
was victorious. At length, the royal ''slogan'' 
died away, and the advance of the patriots, mth 
loud cheers of Viva la LihertadT proclaimed 
the day their own. 

When the Burgos perceived their line broken, 
they gave up all idea of further resistance, and 
fled in every direction, though principally to- 
wards the Espejo de Molina. They were pur- 



ROYALISTS DEFEATED. 



225 



sued by the cavalry, and cut to pieces without 
mercy. J Indeed, this virtue had been banished 
from the breasts of both parties. The carnage, 
was very great, and I was told by some officers 
who had served in Europe, that they never wit- 
nessed any thing more bloody than occurred in 
this part of the field. * 

About the same time that the charge succeeded 
against the right wing of the enemy. Colonel 
Las Heras had overthrown their left, which like- 
wise retreated to the Espejo. In the centre, 
the action was kept up with great determination, 
until, perceiving both their wings beaten, the 
Spaniards gave way^ and the rout became ge- 
neral^ all retreating, in full speed, towards the 
Espejo. 

This farm has three court yards, and is sur- 
rounded by thick mud walls, capable of affording 
protection to two thousand men; and it is a mat- 
ter of surprise that the royalists did not make 
good this position, as its defence was very practi- 
cable, and would have spared them many lives, 
and perhaps have enabled them to capitulate 

Q 



226 



THE ESPEJO. 



upon honourable terms ; however, all order being 
lost, they only thought of saving themselves. 

The patriots, commanded by Las Heras, ad- 
vanced along the callejon, or lane, leading to the 
farm-house, and, upon their reaching it, the roy- 
alists held out a white flag from the window above 
the gateway, and demanded a capitulation, which 
was agreed to, when the gates were immediately 
blown open by a cannon loaded with grape, and 
fired from the inside of the court-yard. The pa- 
triots, of course, no longer gave any quarter, but 
instantly charged into the yard, and were re- 
ceived by a severe fire of musquetry fi'om the 
doors, windows, and every loop-hole of the house. 
This, however, lasted only a short time, for the 
patriots poured in in great numbers, and quickly 
dislodged their enemy. 

The royalists now made no further resistance, 
the word was, same qui peut " and they scram- 
bled out of the farm as fast as possible, but were 
pursued and butchered by their merciless foe. 
There is a large vineyard behind the farm-house, 
through which many of the royalists fled ; but, at 



FARM OF THE ESPEJO. 



227 



the lowest computation, five hundred men pe- 
rished in the farm and vineyard. 
/ The beautiful farm of the Espejo presented a 
dreadful picture after the action, its doors and 
windows perforated with musket balls ; its corri- 
dors, walls, and floors, clotted and sprinkled with 
brains and blood ; and the whole place, within and 
without, covered with dead bodies?! The house was 
quite filled with the baggage of the Spanish 
army, and the plunder was immense. Many sol- 
diers enriched themselves during the action, and 
it is a lamentable fact, that several officers were 
more attentive to their pockets than to the fate 
of the day; some instances of rapacity occurred, 
which it is now needless to mention ; but the 
general conduct of both officers and men was ad- 
mirable ; they fought desperately and enthu- 
siastically, with hearts for Freedom's cause, and 
hands for Freedom's blow." 

Part of the regiment of Burgos had retired to 
an eminence, where the patriot cavalry could not 
act; these capitulated, and were made prisoners. 

At that period of the action, when the Burgos 
q2 



228 



COLONEL PAROTSSIEN. 



regiment was defeated, Mr. Barnard and myself 
(who had established ourselves on General San 
Martin's staff,) were riding close to that general, 
when Captain O'Brien returned from the charge, 
and announced the victory. The general then 
requested us to go in search of Colonel Paroissein, 
chief surgeon of the forces, whom he desired to 
see immediately; accordingly, we took several 
directions in the field, and met at a mill, half a 
mile from the rear of the army, where we found 
the colonel at his duty. 

This mill had been converted into a temporary 
hospital during the action, and its front yard was 
filled with the wounded, chiefly blacks, who had 
been brought from the field. The chief surgeon 
was in the act of amputating the leg of an officer, 
which had been shattered by a musket ball, and 
his hands were covered with blood. Upon deli- 
vering the general's order, the colonel (having 
completed the amputation,) wrote a despatch to 
O'Higgins, in Santiago, and requested me to take 
it, and also to inform the director, that waggons 
and carts were wanted, to convey the wounded to 
the hospitals in the city. 



ANXIETY OF THE PEOPLE. 



229 



The scrap of paper upon which this despatch 
was written, was picked up from the floor, and 
was spotted with blood. I quitted the mill, rode 
towards the city, and in a short time arrived at 
the Canada, a large suburb upon the Valparaiso 
road. The town was almost depopulated that 
day, from the inhabitants, of both sexes and of 
every degree, having stationed themselves in this 
suburb, where they were waiting, in the most 
breathless state of anxiety, to learn — 

" How the sounding battle goes, 

" If for them or for their foes ; 

" If they must mourn, or may rejoice." 

On my entrance into the Canada, I announced 
the victory with a loud cry of " Viva la Patria r 
and displayed the bloody billet I was bearing to 
the director. Scarcely had the words been ut- 
tered, when a responsive shout from the multi- 
tude made the whole welkin ring, and the rush of 
people towards me, to ascertain further particulars, 
almost suffocated me with heat and dust. One 
old gentleman, on horseback, in the raptures of 



230 JOY OF THE INHABITANTS. 

his patriotism^ threw his arms around me, and 
nearly stifled me by the fervour of his embrace, 
from which I disengaged myself, by a manoeuvre 
which he must have felt to have been any thing 
but sympathetic. 

Upon extricating myself from this group, I 
passed along the Canada: the bells rang out a 
joyous peal, and acclamations of Viva la Fa- 
triar " Viva San Martin!'' " Viva la Liber- 
tad T resounded through the air; but, upon my 
nearer approach to the city, the crowd became 
more dense, and I struck into a retired street at 
the skirts of the town; after scrambling over a 
wide and newly-dug trench, followed by several 
horsemen, I galloped, by a circuitous direction, to 
the palace. I found the gates thronged with ca- 
naille, and amongst them was my own servant, 
to whom I gave my horse, and, pushing through 
the crowd with some difficulty, I made good my 
entrance into the audience chamber. 

Here I was surprised to learn that the director 
had gone to the field. He had been so severely 
wounded on the night of the 19th, that the phy- 



THE GANA FAMILY. 



231 



sicians had given as their opinion, that it might 
prove fatal should he attempt the fatigue of ac- 
tive service. Accordingly, he had remained in 
the city, with a few militia, tolerahly quiet, during 
the early part of the morning; but no sooner did 
the distant cannonading reach his ear, than his 
impetuous valour overcame every other considera- 
tion, and, placing himself at the head of the mili- 
tia, he sallied out of the town, to take his share in 
the fray. I found Colonel Fuenticilla acting in 
his stead, to whom T gave the despatch, and deli- 
vered my mission. 

On leaving the palace, I proceeded to the house 
of Dr. Gana, whose family had been always dis- 
tinguished for their patriotism, and they would 
doubtless have been severely treated by the ty- 
rant Osorio. The mother, and three of her beau- 
tiful daughters, were in the greatest state of 
alarm, for four of the sons were that day fighting 
in the patriot army. Upon my assuring the ladies 
that ^^La Patria" had obtained a complete vic- 
tory, they shed tears of joy, but not unalloyed; for 
the fate of the sons and brothers was then un- 



232 



CHURCH REJOICINGS. 



known I received their " abra%os " with a very 
different feeling to that with which I had encoun- 
tered the bearish hug bestowed upon me in the 
Canada. 

I then walked to my own house, to ascertain 
the state of affairs in that quarter. 

My clerk, who was a Spaniard, was at dinner 
vnith several of his friends ; they had heard a dif- 
ferent account of the battle, and appeared quite 
satisfied with the event. At first I favoured the 
idea, and told them that their countrymen had 
won, and they were elated with joy; I then told 
them that their countrymen had lost, and the 
scene was from sunshine to a shower. After a 
hasty dinner, I mounted a fresh horse^ in order to 
return to the scene of action. All the church 
bells in the town were ringing ^ jubilate y and the 
priests were discharging fire-works fi'om the stee- 
ples. This is a South American practice on fes- 
tival days, and the item of gunpowder is not the 
least in the list of church expenses. 

* Don Juan Gana, the youngest son, a lieutenant, 
was killed. 



FRIAR OF SAN DOMINIC. 



233 



I overtook many people who were proceeding 
to the scene of action, some to look after friends 
and relations, some from curiosity, and others 
who, perhaps, would not have wished their views 
to be made public. 

There were several priests on horseback. One 
portly friar, of the order of San Dominic, in full 
dress, with his rosary, beads, and scallopped hat, 
and with his bombazeen gown tucked up to his 
hips, was riding at a gallop. 

On asking him what could induce a man of his 
meek profession to visit a scene of carnage, he 
said, that he was a very good patriot, as well as 
un huen Cristiano^ and that he was going to 
congratulate the generals, and to shrive those who 
were mortally wounded. I left him on the ground, 
to put in practice his latter pious intention. 

Although scarcely two hours had elapsed since 
the action, the guasos of the country, (who had 
all the time been hovering about on horseback, 
just beyond range of shot,) were engaged in 
stripping the bodies of the dying and the dead; 
indeed, many of the latter were already naked. 



234 



THE PLUNDERERS. 



and the natives were riding off with their spoils. 
I saw one man coming away with considerable 
plunder, amongst the rest, about a dozen of mus- 
kets, across the pummel of his saddle ; and I have 
reason to know that many a poor w^ounded 
wretch, especially if a Spaniard, did not get fair 
play during this unhallowed pillaging ; numbers 
were returned killed, who would have survived 
well enough, had they been left to " time and 
mortal custom." 

I stopped to look at a dead body, which I mis- 
took for that of my friend Captain Sowersby, but 
it proved to be a Spanish officer of the Burgos 
regiment ; his forehead was pierced by a musket- 
ball, and close to his side wa& lying a small pam- 
phlet, which I dismounted to take; this and a 
large red Spanish cockade that I found loose on 
the ground, were the only trophies I took from 
that memorable field. 

I next rode to the Callejon de Espejo, where, 
at the bottom of the hillock, were assembled San 
Martin and his chief officers. At this moment 
O'Higgins came up, and the meeting between 



THE PRISONERS. 



235 



him and San Martin was very interesting. Both 
generals embraced, on horseback, and congratu- 
lated each other upon the fortune of the day. 

The troops were bringing in the royalist offi- 
cers and soldiers who had been taken prisoners ; 
amongst the former were Generals Ordonnez, 
Primo Rivaro, Morgado, &c. | Nothing could 
exceed the savage fury of the Black soldiers in 
the patriot army ; they had borne the brunt of 
the action against the finest Spanish regiment, 
and had lost the principal part of their forces ; 
they were delighted with the idea of shooting 
their prisoners, I saw an old Negro actually 
crying with rage when he perceived the officers 
protected from his fury. ( 

Two lines of horsemen were formed, and be- 
tween them the prisoners were marched off the 
ground. My friends, Begg and Barnard, and 
myself, were put into requisition on the occasion. 
This precaution was to keep off the soldiers, and 
prevent them from sacrificing their captives. As 
I rode slowly along, a Spanish officer, who was 
on foot by my side, was so fatigued that he could 



236 



OFFICERS. 



hardly walk, and he requested me to take him 
up behind, which I was about to do, but was pre- 
vented by Colonel Paroissien, who said it would 
only expose both our lives, as the Blacks would 
be sure to fire at him. We marched along till 
we got near to the mill, when a guard took the 
prisoners in charge ; and we retm*ned to Santiago 
long after sunset. 

Besides the native officers who have already 
been mentioned in my report of the battle, se- 
veral foreign officers highly distinguished them- 
selves; amongst them were O'Brien, Sowersby, 
Viel, Beauchef, D'Albe, Lowe, and Lebas. Co- 
lonel Manuel Escalada was despatched to Bue- 
nos Ayres on the evening of the battle, with the 
news of the victory ; and he performed the journey 
across the Cordilleras and Pampas, in the short 
space of ten days. We also sent a courier to 
recal our English friends from near the top of 
the Andes, where they had been bivouacking for 
upwards of a week. 

General Osorio, the commander in chief of the 
royalist army, fled from the field about one 



OSORIO. 



237 



o'clock, in the afternoon, accompanied by about 
one hundred guards; he took the road to Val- 
paraiso, and passed over the Cuesta de Prado 
about three o'clock. The active Captain O'Brien 
selected thirty horse grenadiers, and went in close 
pursuit of him; being informed that the fugitives 
had taken the road to the port, he thought it 
probable that he was gone to San Antonio, for 
the purpose of getting on board a vessel cruizing 
off that point ; accordingly the captain took a 
short cut, by the Cuesta Vieja, and posted towards 
Valparaiso. Osorio, after crossing the Cuesta 
Nueva, had actually remained at the huts at the 
foot of the hill, for a considerable time, to re- 
fresh : he then struck into the defiles of the moun- 
. tains, and proceeded to the river Maule, which 
he reached near its source. On the third day 
after the action, he proposed to his followers, as 
the heat of the pursuit was abated, to halt and 
refresh themselves and horses; this was done, and, 
whilst his companions were asleep, the general 
selected about a dozen of his guards, and choos- 
ing the best horses, swam the river, and slily stole 



238 



RESULTS OF THE BATTLE. 



away, leaving the rest of his companions to shift 
for themselves. On discovering this treacherous 
proceeding of the chief, the officer next in com- 
mand delivered himself up to the nearest patriot 
force, and he and the rest of his companions were 
conveyed prisoners of war to Talca. 

It has been ascertained that, out of the fine 
Spanish army of six thousand men who took the 
field at Maypo, not above two hundred ever re- 
turned to Talcahuano, — the rest were either 
killed or made prisoners ; it was, therefore, almost 
impossible for a victory to have been more com- 
plete. 

Thus terminated the ever-memorable battle of 
Maypo, which for magnitude in numbers and 
importance in its results, far exceeded any action 
ever fought on the western side of the Andes. 
The carnage, considering the number of comba- 
tants engaged, was immense ; out of twelve thou- 
sand men, three thousand five hundred were put 
hors de combat. 

By this victory the cause of independence was 
so firmly established that it subsequently led to 



RESULTS OF THE BATTLE. 



239 



the overthrow of the Spanish power in South 
America; for if the action had been decided in 
favour of the royalists^ it is a question whether 
Peru as well as Chile would not have remained 
under the crown of Spain to this day. 

The battle of Maypo paved the way for the 
battle of Ayacucho, which was victoriously fought 
by the independents in Peru^ on the 9th Decem- 
ber, 1824, against double their numbers, and 
which wrested from Spain the last portion of all 
her once vast dominion in the Americas. 



240 



CHAPTER XI. 

Major Arcos. Captain Biddle. Execution of Juan, 
Joze, and Luis Carrera, Assassination of Rodrigues, 
Rejoicings in Chile. Sea Fight, Chilean Navy. 
Blanco and Callow. 

During the reign of Terror, the period between 
the 19th of March and the 5th of April, 1818, 
the port of Valparaiso was thrown into a similar 
state of consternation to that which prevailed in 
the capital. Major Arcps*, who was in the patriot 
army, had brought the news, and had taken re- 
fuge on board the United States sloop of war 
Ontario, Captain Biddle, which was the only 
vessel of war in the harbour. The governor, Cal- 
deron, claimed Arcos as a deserter, and he was 
delivered up and sent into Santiago as a prisoner, 

* Arcos was a Spaniard in the French interest 
during the Peninsular war, and served on the staff of 
Marshal Jourdan at the battle of Vittoria. 



CAPTAIN BIDDLE. 



241 



in consequence of having stated that the patriot 
cause was lost. A Spanish squadron was block- 
ading the port at the time, and it would have 
been impossible for the English vessels in the 
harbour to have escaped, had they attempted to 
run out. The Wyndham, East Indiaman, was in 
the port, lately from England. Captain Biddle 
was applied to by his own countrymen, and by 
the English, to protect their vessels and persons^ 
as the Spaniards were expected every moment in 
force to take the town. Under this emergency 
Captain Biddle acted in a manner highly honour- 
able to his feelings as a man and an officer : he 
expressed his determination, should the Spaniards 
take possession of Valparaiso, to lead out the 
whole convoy, and, if necessary, to defend it 
against both the forts and the Spanish squadron 
in the offing. This conduct of Captain Biddle 
has been frequently adverted to in terms of ad- 
miration and gratitude by several of my coun- 
trymen who were in Valparaiso at the time.— 
The Ontario only mounted twenty-four carro- 
nades, but the Wyndham was also armed and 

R 



242 



THE CARRERAS. 



manned from the several ships in the harbour. 
Affairs were in this state at Valparaiso when the 
news of the victory at Maypo reached there, 
which was communicated by a salute from all the 
batteries. 

On the 8th of April, three days after the bat- 
tle of Muypo, and before the event was known in 
Mendoza, two of the brothers Carrera, Juan J ose 
and Luis, who had some time previously been ta- 
ken prisoners, on their road to Chile, and had ever 
since remained in confinement, were condemned 
to death and were shot. Monteagudo, whom it 
may be remembered had passed through Santiago 
two days after the panic at Cancharayada, and 
had fled across the mountains to Mendoza, offici- 
ated as chief judge on their trial. The offence 
for which they suffered was that of having endea- 
voured to subvert the existing authorities in 
Chile, from which city they had been banished. 

It is impossible not to sympathize, in some 
measure, with these ill-fated brothers, their strong 
affection for their native country being no doubt 
one of the greatest incentives to their attempt ; 



MANUEL RODRIGUES. 



243 



and as they had been condemned to perpetual 
exile, they were probably rendered desperate by 
such severity; at all events this might be J)leaded 
in extenuation of their treason, if such it could 
be termed. Many thought their sentence too 
severe, and Monteagudo was blamed; his charac- 
ter certainly did not lean to " sweet Mercy's" 
side. They walked from the prison, arm in arm, 
and, having embraced, met their fate with great 
fortitude. 

The Carreras were connected with the first 
families, and their party in Chile was very consi- 
derable. 

The sensation their death occasioned had 
scarcely subsided, when another event occurred, 
which, from its horrible nature, excited the asto- 
nishment and execration of all the better part of 
society in Chile. The powerful partizan, Don 
Manuel Rodrigues — who had so greatly distin- 
guished himself during the most trying and criti- 
cal state of things in Santiago, by taking upon 
himself the government, ad intejim, and who, by 
his promptness and energy had reassured the 

r2 



244 



MANUEL RODRIGUES. 



trembling patriots, and had fought most gallantly 
on the plains of Maypo, — was, a few days after 
that event, placed under secret arrest. The charge 
against him, likewise, was that of an intention to 
overthrow the government of O'Higgins, but as 
he had no trial, no proofs were ever adduced. 
Be that as it may, he was sentenced to banish- 
ment from Chile, and an allowance was settled 
upon him for his maintenance abroad. A vessel 
was lying in Valparaiso bound for Calcutta, whi- 
ther it was agreed to send him, and he was con- 
veyed out of Santiago at night, under a strong 
escort, commanded by a man named Navarro, 
formerly a captain in the royal army, but then a 
Spanish renegade. 

On the second night, when they had nearly 
reached Mellipilla, and were passing along a 
dreary and retired part of the road, Rodriguez 
met his death by the hand of this man, who shot 
him through the head with a pistol-ball. This 
event caused the most lively demonstrations of 
grief throughout Chile, and many were the sus- 
picions on the subject; nor did the authorities 
escape open censure. 



MANUEL RODRIGUES. 



245 



I saw Navarro afterwards at Mendoza, and was 
told, (for I never spoke to him,) that he said his 
orders were from several persons high in autho- 
rity, to despatch Rodrigues in the manner de- 
scribed; but I cannot avouch for the correctness 
of this assertion. Those parties, I know, have 
since repelled the charge with indignation, but 
the matter will always be attended with some 
suspicion, from the deed having been committed 
at midnight, and attended with much mystery. I 
do not believe that two of the higher parties ac- 
cused would have been guilty of sanctioning so 
cool and deliberate an assassination, if we may 
judge from the known clemency of their character 
upon other occasions. They say that Rodrigues 
was endeavouring to effect his escape at the time 
the guard fired at him, and such might probably 
be the case, as his bold and independent spirit 
would naturally have prompted him to regain 
his liberty, especially as he had been secretly 
carried off. It was a lamentable affair, and 
is spoken of with horror in Chile to this very 
day. 



246 



MANUEL RODRIGUES. 



I knew Manuel Rodrigues well, his sentiments 
were those of an ardent and virtuous free man. 
He contributed, by his partizan warfare, to harass 
and distract the Spanish forces during San Mar- 
tin's expected invasion of Chile, and was one of 
that general's most zealous co-operators and cor- 
respondents. His activity eluded all the attempts 
made to take him, when a heavy price had been 
set on his head by the Spanish government, and 
he frequently surprised and defeated detachments 
of his enemies in the most signal manner. By 
forced marches, ambuscades, false intelligence, 
&c. he so bewildered the intendant Don Marco 
del Pont, that the patriot cause was deeply in- 
debted to him for its ultimate success. 

He was, perhaps, the most popular man in 
Chile, but he differed on some points with the 
leaders of the government, which led to his me- 
lancholy end. Rodrigues was thirty years of age, 
five feet eight inches in height, extremely ac- 
tive and well made ; his countenance was expres- 
sive and agreeable. He was originally a barris- 
ter, and, in addition to his military accomplish- 



REJOICINGS. 



247 



merits, was a fluent speaker, and his oratory was 
at once both energetic and persuasive. 

Notwithstanding the gloom which these two 
events had spread among the friends of the seve- 
ral parties, the joy at the termination of the royal 
power in Chile, by the late decisive victory, was 
unbounded. Public assemblies, balls, dinners, 
and fetes, continued in one unceasing round for 
many weeks afterwards. The feasting may be 
said to have commenced on the night of the day 
of the action; for so confidently did the Spanish 
party anticipate the success of their countrymen, 
that a number of suppers had been prepared for 
the royal conquerors, which were consumed by 
very unwelcome but very patriotic guests. Some 
of the citizens also gave grand entertainments to 
the director and chief officers. I remember being 
at one dinner and dance, given by Don Felipe 
Solar, which surpassed any thing of the kind that 
had ever been seen in Chile; all his magnificent 
house and spacious gardens were thrown open, 
and beautifully illuminated ; the effect of the va- 
riegated lamps in the gardens, among pomegra- 



248 



ILLUMINATIONS. 



nate, orange, and citron trees, was quite like 
fairy land. The director and all the chief officers 
were present, and all the families of distinction. 
A grand military band played martial airs be- 
tween the intervals of the dance; there was a 
profusion of every refreshment, and a supper. 
At the dawn of day, the company went into 
the great square, and had a Spanish contredance, 
by way of a finale. 

There were illuminations and fire-works in the 
great square twice, besides on the Sundays. The 
fire-works were very superior to our's, and their 
effect, in a Chile night, is brilliant in the extreme. 
No illumination can be finer than that of a Span- 
ish town in South America, the streets being so 
regular, and each of the houses having a , silk 
party-coloured flag ; with sometimes festoons of 
silk across the streets, from the tops of the 
houses ; these, with a profusion of lamps, in 
pretty devices and figures, upon the white-washed 
walls, give the streets the appearance of a well- 
lighted gallery. 

Five days after the battle of Maypo, the vie- 



THE LAUTARO. 



249 



torious San Martin left Santiago for Buenos 
Ayres^ where he was received as a deliverer, with 
triumphal arches and every demonstration of ex- 
cessive congratulation. There was a succession 
of dinners and fetes, and the British merchants 
outdid all that had hitherto been done, by the 
very magnificent ball and supper which they gave 
upon the occasion. 

The general's object in visiting Buenos Ayres 
was to concert measures with government for 
bringing the war to a speedy termination, by 
acting in concert with the armies destined to in- 
vade Peru by land, whilst San Martin made a de- 
scent upon the coast. 

The Wyndham East Indiaman, formerly owned 
by Captain Joseph Andrews, was sold by him to 
the Chile government, and was fitted out at Val- 
paraiso as a frigate: she was named the Lau- 
taro, manned by about four hundred English, 
North American, and Chileno seamen, and, 
with this motley crew, proceeded to sea, under 
the command of Captain O'Brien, who had 
been a lieutenant in the British navy. In the 



250 



SEA FIGHT. 



ofRng of the port they fell in with the Spa- 
nish frigate the Venganza, and the brig of 
war Pezuela; O'Brien immediately laid his ship 
on board the former, and jumped on her decks, 
followed by about thirty men, the Spaniards fled 
fi'om their quarters, and saved themselves by run- 
ning up the rigging, or skulking below, thus 
leaving the Venganza completely in the possession 
of the patriots; but at this critical moment the 
two ships separated, and the Spaniards, perceiv- 
ing how few men had got on board, commenced 
a sharp firing from below, and O'Brien was shot 
through the heart by a musket-ball. 

The Lautaro joined again for a few moments, 
which enabled the rest of the crew to return, but 
falling oiF a second time, both the Venganza and 
Pezuela crowded all sail, and made their escape. 

The engagement had been seen from the 
heights of Valparaiso, and a despatch was for- 
warded to Santiago, with the glorious news of the 
capture of the Spanish frigate. 

Great rejoicings were taking place, and an illu- 
mination was ordered, when a correct account of 



NAVY OF CHILE. 



251 



the affair arrived, which speedily put a stop to 
the festivities. 

The navy of Chile, which was at this period in 
its infancy, shortly after received a reinforcement 
by the arrival of the Cumberland East Indiaman, 
which had been contracted for by the Chile mi- 
minister, Irizarri. She was a very fine ship, of 
one thousand two hundred tons, and had a good 
battery; she was rechristened the San Martin, 
and was commanded by Captain Wilkinson. Mr. 
Higginson, a North American, was appointed 
commodore, on account of his naval skill ; but as 
he was upwards of sixty years of age, he soon re- 
signed the command, and it devolved upon Co- 
lonel Blanco Cicerone Encalada, who had form- 
erly been a midshipman in the Spanish navy. 
Such was the scarcity of nautical talent in the 
new republic at this time, that it was necessary 
to have an officer of the army to conduct the 
squadron. 

When O'Higgins commenced his retreat from 
before Talcahuano, the patriot inhabitants of the 
town of Conception, dreading the cruelties of the 



252 



MR. W. BOWERS. 



royalistS;, retired with the army, abandoning their 
houses and estates; numbers of persons of consi- 
derable wealthy in their own province, were thus 
reduced to a state of great distress. Many 
of the small houses in the suburbs of Santiago 
were occupied by these emigrants, numbers of 
whom owed their existence to the charity of the 
inhabitants. I must here record a trait of an 
Englishman, Mr. William Bowers, a lieutenant in 
the navy, who was then in Santiago; he had come 
out as master of a merchant vessel. About four- 
teen years before. Bowers, when a boy, had been 
captured in a whaler, by the Spaniards, oflP Lima, 
and was sent, with the crew, to the dungeons of 
San Felipe, where many of them died through se- 
vere treatment and hard fare. After the lapse of 
two years, young Bowers contrived to make his 
escape, in a most extraordinary manner, and 
sought refuge on board a merchant vessel, 
which carried him to Talcahuano; he was here 
sheltered and protected by a family named So- 
rano, and supplied with means to carry him to 
his native country. 



MR. W. BOWERS. 



253 



This family were now among the refugees, and 
were greatly distressed in circumstances. Mr. 
Bowers accidentally heard of this, and immedi- 
ately proceeded to his former friends, supplied 
them with money, contrived to keep them in very 
comfortable quarters, during their stay in San- 
tiago, and I have heard him say, that in being 
thus enabled to evince his gratitude had given 
him more pleasure than any other event of his 
life. 

Foreign merchant ships now began to arrive in 
considerable numbers, from England and the 
United States, and two vessels came direct from 
Calcutta, laden with manufactured goods and co- 
lonial produce; prices fell in proportion, and the 
markets were quite glutted with every description 
of goods and wares, but the duties were not suffi- 
cient for the exigencies of the state. Foreigners 
arrived in great numbers, and Valparaiso already 
began to look like an English port. 

The society at Santiago was extremely gay, 
and was considerably enlivened by our naval 
officers, who received permission to visit Santiago, 



254 



BRITISH OFFICERS. 



and were always treated by the fair Chileiias 
with great hospitality and attention; a constant 
round of tertulias and parties ensued, whenever 
they came in any number. They introduced qua- 
drilles into the drawing rooms, and this dance is 
now a great favorite with the Chilenas. Captain 
ShirrefF of the Andromache frigate was on this 
station at this time. 

The Chilenas seldom give dinner parties, nor 
is there that domestic neatness and comfort in 
their houses which some people consider a sine 
qua non, A mild climate renders their houses 
always pleasant enough as to temperament, ex- 
cept during a few months in the winter, when 
charcoal fires are brought into the rooms in silver 
or copper braseras. Glass is very seldom used 
for windows, except in some of the very best 
houses. The walls of their rooms are usually 
painted, on whitewash or stucco, but some are 
papered. 

Their furniture is very seldom good; common 
wooden English and North American chairs and 
tables are usually used, and only a portion of the 



FOREIGN OFFICERS. 



255 



sitting room is carpeted, so that bare bricks are 
visible in other parts. 

The inhabitants are fond of pastoral excur- 
sions, and frequently proceed to some hacienda, 
or country house, in the neighbourhood^ to pass 
the whole day in the amusements of music and 
dancing; sometimes the English were invited 
to join the parties, and they appeared to enter 
into the full spirit of these fetes-champetre. On 
a Sunday, it was customary for us to proceed 
about a league from the city, and amuse ourselves 
by horse-racing, in which diversion the natives 
frequently joined us, as well as our officers of the 
navy. 

A number of aspirants after military fame 
came from Europe about this time. Besides those 
mentioned, in the preceding chapters, were Co- 
lonels Charles, two brothers O'Connel, Hill, Gra^ 
vat, Grannen, and Sowersby : the latter was in the 
battle of Maypo; he was a Prussian by birth, but 
his mother was English; he had been in the 
French army, had witnessed the burning of Mos- 
cow, and was taken prisoner in the retreat from 



256 



COLONEL CHARLES. 



Russia; he was considered a fine cavelry officer. 
Colonel Charles had been with Sir Robert Wil- 
son, and the allied sovereigns in Germany, during 
the campaign of 1813. He was present at the 
battles of Dresden and Leipsic, and was a very 
excellent engineer officer. 

I may here remark that the foreign officers 
who assisted the patriot cause, were generally 
young men of high character and spirit, most of 
whom had been in the army in Europe, They 
praised highly the valour and steadiness of the 
Chilean troops; indeed nothing can be further 
from truth than the opinion that has pre- 
vailed in Europe relative to the undisciplined and 
half wild state of the South American armies. 
The privates are extremely well clothed in a blue 
uniform, with red facings, and blue, grey, or 
white duck pantaloons ; and, on parade days, I 
have seen regiments turn out which would not 
have disgraced either the Thuilleries or Hyde 
Park, Promotion is not so rapid as might be 
imagined, and foreign officers, unless of extraor- 
dinary merit, have as much difficulty in getting 



COIiONEL BLANCO. 



257 



forward as in their own country. The Spanish 
system of tactics is followed. 

In detailing matters of fact I am careful not to 
extenuate^ or set down aught in malice/' and 
in conformity with this principle shall now relate 
a circumstance which took place at Valparaiso, 
in the month of September, 1818, when business 
called me to that city, so that I witnessed the 
whole transaction. I was staying at the house of 
Mr. John Callow, an Englishman, who kept a 
sort of ship-chandler's-store. Callow was a man 
who had, from a humble station in life, acquired, 
by his own industry, a little property, and rented 
one of the handsomest houses in Valparaiso, where 
he carried on his business: he had resided there 
for some time, with his wife, an Englishwoman, 
and, as there was no decent tavern in the place, 
they always accommodated me with board and 
lodging during my temporary sojourn at this 
port. 

At the period I refer to. Colonel Blanco, whom 
I before mentioned as having distinguished him- 
self at the battle of Maypo, had obtained pro- 

s 



258 



MR. CALLOW. 



motion and was come down to Valparaiso^ as 
commandant of the Chile Marine Department : 
his own residence there not being suitable to his 
wishes, he took a fancy to Callow's house, which 
stood on the beach, and had a view of the beau- 
tiful bay. 

One morning, early, before I was up, my host 
entered my apartment, in great trepidation, with 
a most lengthened visage, and said that he had 
just received orders, from the commandant, to 
pack up, bag and baggage, and evacuate the pre- 
mises within twenty-four hours ; and he asked me 
what he should do? I advised him to refuse to 
obey this most arbitrary mandate ; and upon my 
promising him, if matters should be carried to 
extremities, I would cause the case to be repre- 
sented to the Supreme Director in Santiago, he 
screwed his courage to the sticking place, and 
resolved not to give up his citadel, — at all events 
not till he could procure another residence suita- 
ble to his trade. An answer to this effect was 
sent to the commandant, who replied that unless 
the house shovdd be cleared by four o'clock the 



ARREST OF CALLOW. 



259 



next day, he would send an armed force to expel 
its inmates, m et armis. 

Nothing further took place that day, but, on 
the following, Mr. and Mrs. Callow and myself 
dined at three ; and scarcely had the cloth been 
removed, and " the King " drank in a bumper, 
when, as we were quietly seated cracking our 
nuts, and discoursing about the liberty of Old 
England, in marched a file of mustacheod mus- 
keteers, headed by a Mulatto serjeant, who, sans 
ceremonie, caused the person of my worthy host 
to disappear in the custody of two of his myr- 
midons. On thus suddenly parting company with 
her consort, Mrs. Callow uttered a most piercing 
scream, which made the ceiling ring again. Even 
the dusky serjeant was moved, and told me that 
he was sorry, but his orders compelled him to 
take possession of the premises and eject the in- 
habitants ; the commandant, however, had sent 
word to me that I might retain my room in the 
house during my stay in Valparaiso ; I therefore 
placed some valuable property, belonging to my 
host, in my apartment, for security, and, locking 

s 2 

r 



260 



ARREST OF CALLOW. 



the dooi% I left the house, leading my disconsolate 
hostess through the streets of Valparaiso, weep- 
ing like one of Zion's desolate daughters, and 
conveyed her to the house of my friend, Mr. Bun- 
ster, to whose lady's soothing care I consigned 
her, and then marched up to the Fort to learn 
what had become of her spouse. A black centinel 
presented his bayonet at the gate, with the ma- 
gical words of — " El Ingles esta incomunicado," 
which turned me on my heel. 

On descending the hill I perceived oui* sum- 
mary commandant walking on the beach, in com- 
pany with his aid-de-camp. Major Dias. I ap- 
proached the tw^o chieftains and requested to be 
informed wiiat crime a countryman of mine had 
coimnitted that he w^as thus immm-ed in prison 
and debarred the liberty of speech. Colonel Blanco 
said, with some w^armth, that Callow^ had rebelled 
against the authorities, by refusing to leave his 
house when ordered ; that if my King wanted a 
house in England, he could have it immediately; 
and that he was the chief magistrate in Valpa- 
raiso and must be obeyed. I replied that his 



ARREST OF CALLOW. 



261 



Majesty^ whose subject I had the honour to be^, 
had never dislodged his faithful lieges in such a 
hasty manner^ that he always gave due notice 
to quit, according to law; and that, frequently, 
previous to taking possession, he had to satisfy 
the rapacity of an obstinate vassal, by giving him 
fourfold the value of his property. I appealed 
to Major Dias, who had been in England, to at- 
test the truth of my statement, which that gentle- 
man did immediately. I then received permis- 
sion to visit Callow, and returned to the Fort. 

I found my worthy host in the guard-room, 
with his legs in double irons, in company with 
two dingy deserters. He was quite dejected 
at being thus snatched from the blessings of 
" sweet home," and the tender sympathies of a 
kind and affectionate wife. I cheered him up ; 
told him that he would be considered a martyr 
in the glorious cause of Liberty and of English- 
men's rights: spoke of Hampden and Sidney, 
(names by the bye which he appeared to hear of 
for the first time,) and of the amazing things 
the first English commander would do to redress 



262 



ARREST OF CALLOW. 



his wrongs. Having re-assured him, I left the 
Fort, and drew up a remonstrance against such 
harsh measures heing used to our countrymen, 
which I got signed hy all the respectable English, 
both in Valparaiso and Santiago. 

Callow was liberated the same evening, but 
his goods and chattels were sent packing, which 
caused him a considerable loss of property, be- 
sides seriously injuring his business. 

Captain Shirr elF, of his Majesty's ship Andro- 
mache, came shortly after on the station, and the 
case was reported to him; but, notwithstanding 
that active and intelligent officer's repeated ap- 
plications to the Chile government upon this sub- 
ject, he was only enabled to obtain for Callow 
the sum of four hundred dollars, for all the losses 
and privations which he had endured, and that 
sum was afterwards paid to him in Chile govern- 
ment paper, then at a discount of thirty-five per 
cent. So terminated this curious affair. 



263 



CHAPTER XII. 

Capture of the Spanish Frigate, Maria Isabel, and 
Transports, Lord and Lady Cochrane. Theatre 
in Santiago. Nunnery. Peruvian Indian. A Friar. 
Religious Rites. Departure from Santiago to Men- 
doza. Journey across the Pampas, and Arrival in 
Buenos Ayres. Embarkation for Rio de Janeiro, 
and Arrival in England. 

Shortly after Blanco's arrival at Valparaiso the 
Chile squadron put to sea, for the purpose of 
intercepting a Spanish expedition which was ex- 
pected round Cape Horn. The vessels consisted 
of the San Martin, 56 guns ; the Chacabuco, 20, 
and the Aruncano, 16 : Captains Wilkinson, Wor- 
ster, Dias, and Morris; Commodore Blanco hav- 
ing his flag in the San Martin. The squadron 
sailed for Talcahuano, and had the fortune to 
meet with the Spanish frigate Maria Isabel, which 
had brought the convoy from Spain. The San 
Martin ran alongside, and gave her a broadside 



264 



PATRIOT SQUADRON. 



which caused the Spaniards to abandon the ves- 
sel, and she was taken possession of, but, having 
grounded, it was with great difficulty that the 
prize was secured and taken out of the port. 
Seven transports, which came in successively, all 
with troops on board, were captured off the port 
of Talcahuano, and thus the object of Spain's 
last expedition to Peru was completely frustrated. 
Too much credit cannot be given to the govern- 
ment of O'Higgins at this period in fitting out 
his squadron ; considering the many heterogeneous 
materials of which it was formed it is surprising 
how well every thing harmonized. There were 
English, North American, and native officers and 
men, in every ship, yet they always acted without 
the slightest confusion. Great rejoicings took 
place in Chile upon learning the fate of the Spa- 
nish expedition, and the seasonable possession of 
so many transports was hailed as providential. 
The navy also received an additional force in the 
Galvanno, belonging to Captain Guise, which 
that officer brought out from England manned 
and armed c 



LADY COCHRANE. 



265 



In November, Lord and Lady Cochrane arrived 
in the Rose, Captain Illingsworth ; his lordship 
had been invited by Irizarri, when in England, to 
take the command of the Chilean navy. 

He came up to the capital of Santiago, and 
after some discussion, for there was a party 
against a foreign admiral, San Martin settled the 
affair by insisting upon his lordship's being 
placed in command. 

When Lady Cochrane first arrived at Santiago 
she was in the zenith of her beauty, and the im- 
pression she made upon the inhabitants was very 
great. There had hitherto prevailed in Chile, a 
belief that the English women were far from 
good looking, and indeed from the specimens they 
had seen, it is not to be wondered at; for their 
knowledge of our countrywomen extended only 
to Mrs. Black, the tailor's wife, and Mrs. Walker, 
who kept an hotel, (neither of whom were among 
the most favoured of Eve's daughters, at least as 
far as regards appearance,) and occasionally seeing 
the wife of the master of a merchantman; conse- 
quently they could have but a faint idea 5f the 



266 



THEATRE. 



beauty and elegance of the British fair. They 
were now undeceived, and que hermosa! que Ihida! 
was always applied when speaking of her lady- 
ship. She, however, gave some offence to the 
Cabildo, who were paying their visits in form, as 
she expressed a dislike to the smoke of cigars, 
which those gentlemen think a component part 
of themselves, and are seldom without them in 
their mouths. 

A temporary theatre was erected in Santiago; 
representations took place for eighteen nights, 
the principal performers being European Spa- 
niards who were taken, prisoners at Maypo. The 
whole arrangement was very good, and although 
the house was constructed of wood with beams 
strengthened and fastened together by ropes of 
hides, yet the place was strong and commodious. 
The costume of the actors was preserved much 
better than could have been expected, and some 
of them were even costly. The behaviour of the 
audience was always very quiet and orderly, but 
smoking cigars was allowed between the acts; 
though this was of very little consequence, for the 



SPANISH PLAY. 



267 



only roof to the house was the spangled vault of 
heaven, than which nothing could be better in so 
benign a climate, where the skies are cloudless 
and the moon clear and bright. The only incon- 
vience in this theatre was a number of soldiers, 
with their large caps and shouldered muskets, 
standing apart like ninepins in different parts of 
the pit, to preserve order and spoil the view of 
the stage. 

Much has been said about the great influence 
of the clergy, in South America, amongst all 
classes of tbe people; but, as a proof that they 
are not held in such very great reverence, I shall 
make an extract from my common-place book, 
written on the 29th June, 1818, when the piece 
alluded to was represented in Santiago. 

The plot is very simple, and I dare say founded 
on fact. A priest, who is confessor to a lady, 
falls desperately in love with her, and she returns 
his passion. The husband knocks at the door 
whilst they are in conference; the priest hides 
himself until she contrives some excuse to send 
the husband out again; however, as he would 



268 



SPANISH PLAY. 



soon return^ she dresses up the priest, in the in- 
terim, like the image of a saint, and makes him 
stand on the table. On the husband's return, he 
discovers his wife kneeling to the image, and is 
delighted with her piety. The image, as he 
thinks, representing a saint of a very superior 
order, he also asks a boon of it, upon which the 
priest tells him to have a procession and take him 
to his convent. The man runs out and returns 
shortly after with his neighbours, for the purpose 
of carrying the image in procession; they sing 
and perform all the rites requisite for the occa- 
sion, when the alcalde of the district, attracted 
by the noise, enters and discovers the imposture: 
he immediately exposes the priest, who, by way 
of recompense, gets a sound cudgelling from the 
mob. Such is the outline of a piece that I actu- 
ally saw represented after a grand procession- 
day. 

I shall now give a specimen of a Spanish farce, 
which I also witnessed. A sportsman appears in 
quest of game, with a lady, supposed to be his 
wife. They each kill a bird, and very naturally 



SPANISH FARCE. 



269 



sit down together to prepare for a meal ; she has 
the diligence to pluck the birds, and he goes out 
for a time. A wild Indian appears who wishes to 
gain the lady's good graces; he is doing the 
amiable in as civilized a way as possible, when 
the husband returns and immediately shoots the 
gallant, upon which exit the lady. The sports- 
man, not knowing what to do with the body, at 
length places it in an upright and fantastical 
position and goes away. The dean then enters, 
and, observing that the Indian does not pay him 
any respect, gives him a kick which causes the body 
to fall. The priest thinks he has killed the sa- 
vage, but he reconciles himself by saying that he 
supposes he is gone to the devil, as he was not a 
Christian ; upon this, the curtain falls and so ends 
this precious morceau. At the same theatre I 
likewise saw represented Shakspeare's Othello, 
^^done into Spanish," with nothing resembling the 
original except Othello's black face, and the smo- 
thering of Desdemona. 

There are three nunneries in Santiago, the 
largest is that of Las Catalinas; here the nuns 



270 



A NUNNERY. 



are visible once a year, through a grating on one 
side of the church : at Holy Eve they assemble to 
sing before this grating, and a friend of mine 
wished me to accompany him to witness the ce- 
remony; accordingly we proceeded to the church 
of Las Catalinas. On my way thither I made 
many sage reflections on the utility of these in- 
stitutions, mixed with some regret that so many 
of the young, the innocent, and the lovely, should 
be condemned to be 

" Lost in a convent's solitary gloom," 

Instead of remaining in the world to become the 
grace and ornament of society. I pondered upon 
how many had been compelled to take the veil 
by the caprice of cruel parents, and had become 

crazed with care, or crossed in hopeless love." 
Perchance, thought I, there may be one with all 
the talent and beauty of an Eloisa, doomed to waste 
her future years in rigid vigil, prayer, and fast. 

It was in this train of thought that I entered 
the church and approached the grating, when my 
fancy received a sudden check, and my commis- 



AN OLD INDIAN. 



271 



seration for the fate of the ladies gradually sub- 
sided: there were about forty faces^ — but such 
faces ! They had the appearance of withered pine- 
apples! Most of them were old women, and I 
did not see, in the whole assemblage, one in whose 
behalf I could feel disposed either to scale a wall 
or break a bolt. 

At length the singing commenced; it was such 
wild and discordant screaming, that it vibrated 
through every nerve. Though no great connois- 
seur in music, yet I have some little taste for it, 
so taking up my hat I walked out of the church, 
with a firm resolution never, for the future, to go 
to a nunnery in quest of the sublime and beautiful. 

In my frequent journeys to Valparaiso, I had 
sometimes to put up at the village of Curacavi, 
half way between that port and the capital, 
where an Indian kept a sort of inn; he was an 
aboriginal of Peru, who used to boast that he 
had some of the blood of the Incas in his 
veins; he was of a very studious character, and, 
besides the Quichua language, could read and 
write both Latin and Spanish. Though nearly 



272 



A CURATE. 



eighty years of age, he had married a young 
Creole woman, by whom he had two very hand- 
some daughters. He was fond of talking about 
history, but his favourite topic was the wars 
in Palestine; and he once asked me if I had 
ever seen the sword with which Richard Cceur de 
Lion slew the Pagans ; upon my answering in the 
affirmative, and assuring him of its extreme 
length, he said he should like to go to England 
to see it. He never realized his wish, for one 
morning he was found dead in his chair, with his 
spectacles on his nose, a cigar in his mouth, and 
a Latin Bible in his hand. 

At the village of Renca, about a league and a 
half from Santiago, there resided a stout, robust, 
bullet-headed man, who was capellan, or curate, 
of the village; he was a very jovial companion, 
and, contrary to the tenets of his profession, was 
a man of most pugnacious habits; for, upon se- 
veral occasions, when the patriot cause had been 
in danger, he had thrown off his surplice, and put 
himself at the head of a guerilla party; he had 
even distinguished himself at the battle of Maypo. 



A CURATE. 



273 



I used to like the society of this good-humoured 
priest, and sometimes rode over and dined with 
him. Fasting was not his forte, for he would eat 
meat in Lent, and his drink was not of the 
brook; his conversation was more inclined to 
feats of broil and battle than to any thing con- 
nected with his own peaceable calling. He fre- 
quently lamented that the Roman Catholic clergy 
were not allowed the privilege of marrying. "How 
unnatural," he would exclaim, " to condemn a 
strong hearty man like me to perpetual celibacy; 
I have found nothing in the Old or New Testa- 
ment to warrant such a law, and I think it must 
be a mistake," adding " in that particular I like 
your religion the best;" a fact of which I felt 
perfectly persuaded in my own mind, for it was 
rumoured about the village, that there were se- 
veral children in the parish who bore something 
more than an accidental resem_blance to my holy 
friend. He reminded me of Robin Hood's Friar 
Tuck, both in his appearance and in his notions 
of the good things of this life, and I one day gave 
him the history of that redoubtable personage; 

T 



274 



RELIGIOUS RITES. 



he was highly entertained, and laughed heartily 
at the comparison. He was tolerably well read, 
had seen a good deal of the world, and his flock 
respected him much; for he always conducted 
himself before them with suitable gravity. 

The carnival in Santiago was attended with 
the usual confusion, frolic, and fun which charac- 
terize that religious diversion in Roman Catholic 
countries. One day, during Lent, my friend, the 
Capellan, invited me to come and witness a cere- 
mony which was to take place in his diocese. 
About two hundred females, of all ranks, had 
been confined, for nine days, in the church, doing 
penance the whole time — this is what is called 
exercicio. From constant prayer, singing, and 
fasting, they were excited to such a state of 
enthusiasm, that they certainly presented the 
most extraordinary sight I ever witnessed. Se- 
veral of my English friends were with me, and as 
we stood near the church we could hear the 
screams and the sobs of the women long before 
the doors were thrown open ; but the instant this 
took place, the whole congregation rushed out 



PENANCE. 275 

with their hair streaming over their shoulders, 
some crying and clasping or wringing their hands, 
and others shrieking piteously; in fact they were 
in such a state of frenzy that it was deplorable to 
behold them. Their friends were waiting at the 
doors, and seized them as they came out, in order 
to carry them home : some were placed in caleses, 
some on horseback, and others were led walking 
to the villages; in this manner, in the course of 
half an hour, these singular devotees were all dis- 
persed, and under the protection of their friends. 

On the same afternoon, in the same village, 
about fifty men, with only sheets round their 
loins, were walking in the Plaza, scourging them- 
selves till the blood streamed down their backs 
very copiously : some of them were walking with 
irons on their legs, and groaning as they inflicted 
the stripes upon themselves. The implement 
they used was something like a boatswain's cat, 
but some had spikes at the end of the lash; there 
was a large image of the Virgin Mary standing 
in the Plaza, which they approached and prayed 
before. This penance is in commemoration of 



2T6 



PENANCE. 



our Saviour's sufferings on his way to Mount Cal- 
vary. 

I could not help expressing my disgust to the 
Capellan at such an exhibition, and his reply was. 

Pooh, pooh ; they are most of them terrible 
rascals, and deserve hanging for their crimes." 
As he had had so recently the handling of their 
consciences I made no further remark; nor would 
I have related the two foregoing facts from mere 
hearsay, or without ^Uhe sensible and true avouch 
of mine own eyes." 

Having sold all my cargo and remitted the 
proceeds to the owners in England, and having 
received nothing but two letters from my stre- 
nuous supporters, although I had been in Chile 
upwards of a year and a half, one morning, 
when I was in the suds (for I was shaving,) I said 
to myself I will arise and return to my native 
country, and see what friends are living and 
who are dead. Accordingly, on the next day, I 
engaged a well known guide, called Morales, a 
man extremely well versed in the ways, not of the 
world, but of the Cordilleras and the Pampas; 



ANECDOTE. 



277 



and, on the first of June, 1819, I was again on 
the top of the Andes, amongst the condors and 
guanacos. 

The guanaco is generally classed under the 
head of South American sheep, but I think it 
more like a camel; it is an animal that has me- 
mory and affection, as I shall give an anecdote 
to prove. 

I sent a pair of these animals as a present to a 
friend of mine, who has an estate in Surrey. 
The male died on the passage, but the female 
arrived safe at the London Docks. I bought 
them of an Indian market-woman, when they 
were only a few months old. 

Whilst they were in my possession, she came 
to see them once a week, and they always showed 
great joy when she spoke to them, and would 
leap about and endeavour to get near her. Ar- 
rived in England, the female after some time 
took a fancy to one of my friend's carriage horses, 
and when he was turned out to grass, she would 
not allow any one to approach her favourite. 
When the carriage drove down the sweep she 



278 



SAN MARTIN. 



would accompany her friend, and proceed bound- 
ing down the drive by his side, and became 
highly indignant when the lodge gate was closed 
against her. After committing a variety of freaks, 
such as knocking down the groom, alarming a 
child, and, on more than one occasion, entering 
the kitchen and frightening the cook from her 
spit, my friend voted " Miss Fanny" unmanage- 
able and returned her to me, and I placed her 
under the tuition of Mr. Cross, head master of 
the academy for wild beasts at Exeter Change. 

On the fourth day from my departure from 
Chile I arrived at Mendoza. 

General San Martin had been residing there 
for several months ; he had attempted to cross the 
Pampas to Buenos Ayres, but was nearly falling 
into the hands of Jose Miguel Carrera*, who was 

* Jose Miguel Carrera, in revenge for the death of 
his brothers, raised a body of Montoneros in the 
Pampas, where he carried on a desolating war with 
fire and sword, for several years ; on one occasion he 
took the city of Buenos Ayres : he was at last defeated 



SAN MARTIN. 



279 



scouring the Pampas with a band of desperadoes ; 
consequently, he was compelled to return to Men- 
doza. There was a number of political intrigues 
about this time, both in Chile and Buenos Ayres, 
and San Martin had become so disgusted at the 
want of co-operation which he experienced, that 
he had resigned all command, and had appeared 
in Mendoza in citizen clothes. He was then lying 
dangerously ill in that city. 

Previous to my departure from Santiago, I had 
received two letters from high military and civil 
officers, who were San Martin's friends, with an 
injunction to deliver them into San Martin's own 
hands ; or, in the event of finding him dead, to de- 
stroy them. 

Upon reaching Mendoza I went to his house, 

and taken prisoner, near Mendoza, and was executed 
in the great square of that city on the very spot where 
his two younger brothers had met their fate five years 
before. When their friends came into power in Chile, 
in 1827, they caused the bodies of all three to be disin- 
terred and carried to Santiago, where they were buried 
with military honours. 



280 SAN MARTIN. 

and, upon informing General Quintana my bu- 
siness, I was ushered into the general's room. 

I found the hero of Maypo stretched upon a 
sick bed, and looking so wan and emaciated that, 
but for the lustre of his eyes, I should hardly 
have recognized him : he received me with a faint 
smile, and stretched out his hand to welcome me. 
Upon delivering my letters he was raised on his 
bed to read them; the contents appeared to give 
him great pleasure, and he handed them to Ge- 
neral Quintana, who, after reading them, gave a 
nod of approbation: and I was requested to call 
again before I left Mendoza. 

Shortly after this period. General San Martin 
received the command of the army in Chile, and 
organized the invasion of Peru: he was then in 
the 44th year of his age. He is a native of the 
interior; his father was governor of a province in 
South America, and San Martin, when young, 
was sent to Spain to be educated. He entered 
the Spanish army and served under Lord Welling- 
ton's orders in Spain, and was in the Burgos re- 
giment at Baylen when the French army capitu- 



DON MANUEL. 



281 



lated under General Dupont ; he was aid-de- 
camp to the Marquis Solano, and narrowly 
escaped being massacred by the mob, when that 
nobleman was killed by them in Cadiz. 

On the close of the peninsular war he returned 
to Buenos Ayres, and married a lady of that 
city; he organized a regiment of cavalry, and 
distinguished himself by great personal bravery 
in an action with some Spanish troops at San 
Lorenzo. He subsequently became governor of 
Mendoza, and was there when the patriot army 
was beat out of Chile, which country he after- 
wards invaded, as has been described in a pre- 
ceding chapter. 

I was sorry to learn that, a short time before, 
a severe domestic affliction had marred the hap- 
piness of my estimable friend, Don Manuel Ba- 
lenzuela. It appears that he had reason to sus- 
pect his wife's fidelity, and that she had an in- 
trigue with an officer; by a stratagem he suc- 
ceeded in tracing him to his wife's bed-chamber, 
and, being armed, he instantly burst into the 
room: the first pistol, which he levelled at his 



282 



DON MANUEL. 



^ wife, missed fire, but the paramour here inter- 
posed, and receiving the contents of the second 
pistol in his breast, he instantly fell. The lady 
fled out of the house. Don Manuel was taken 
that night before the police, but, on the case be- 
ing stated, he was discharged*. 

Pursuant to promise, I called upon San Mar- 
tin, and received from him a letter to his lady in 
Buenos Ayres, and to several of his friends; I 
then took my leave of the general. 

On the fourth day after my arrival. Morales 
and myself hired horses and I once more bade 
adieu to sweet Mendoza; the hire of a horse from 

* It was six years after this event that I again saw 
Don Manuel, at Mendoza: his daughter had grown up 
an interesting young woman, and did the honours of 
her father's table with peculiar grace. Her mother was 
in a convent where she had remained since the affair 
just mentioned. Don Manuel died the following year, 
and on his death-bed sent for his wife to forgive her : 
this he perhaps did that he might depart in peace, or 
probably to prevent any squabbles about the family 
property. He died in 1828. 



THE JOURNEY. 



283 



this place to the Punta de San Luis, is one real 
per league, but from thence to Buenos Ayres, it 
is only half that rate. I shall, for the benefit of 
the traveller, give a brief outline of this journey 
as I find it written in my note book. 

The first stage of the road is sandy, and 
in some places very stony. We arrived at the 
Alo de Coma, five leagues ; we were scarcely de- 
tained a minute, and proceeded to the Retama 
which is a beautiful little hamlet. Here my lug- 
gage was searched by the custom-house officers; 
after which we went on to the Arroya de Chacon, 
nine leagues further; this stage we reached at 
nine o'clock, thus completing twenty-one leagues 
since two o'clock in the afternoon. We started 
again at day-break, and proceeded six leagues 
to the Catitas before breakfast ; this post is a mi- 
serable cabin; from thence to the Dormida, six 
leagues; nine to Corocorte; nine to Corral de 
Cuero, and eleven to the Desaguadero. The 
whole of these stages the horses were excellent, 
and I travelled this day forty-one leagues. We 
proceeded with a number of led horses to pass the 



284 



PUNT A DE SAN LUIS. 



Travasia^ and arrived at the Punta de San Luis 
about dark. 

At the Punta I found Monteagudo and Don 
Manuel Sarratea^ who had been banished thither. 
Some months previous a dreadful massacre had 
taken place here, of all the chief officers who had 
been taken prisoners at the battle of Maypo; 
amongst whom were General Ordonnez, Primo, 
Rivero, Morgado, Slc. to the number of twenty- 
two in the whole, who had fallen either by the 
inhabitants, or had been subsequently shot. — 
The governor, Dupuis, asserted that these Span- 
ish gentlemen had attempted his life, the tocsin 
was sounded, and an alarm given that the priso- 
ners were attempting to rise, upon which the in- 
habitants rushed out of their houses and killed all 
the unfortunate Spaniards that came in their 
way. A few who had concealed themselves were 
denounced the next day, and Monteagudo was 
appointed their judge; he condemned them to 
death and they were shot. I took coffee, on the 
evening of my arrival, with Monteagudo, and he 
accompanied me home to the post-house for the 



MASSACRE. 



285 



purpose of obtaining ^'Ossian's Poems," in English, 
which I had offered him to beguile his exile. On 
our way, he gave me the history of this massacre, 
and told me that six of the principal officers had 
gone armed into the governor's house to assassi- 
nate him, but owing to Dupuis's dexterity, and 
his obtaining timely assistance, they were them- 
selves killed: he said that all the Spaniards had 
been in the plot to kill Dupuis, himself, and 
others, and to take possession of San Luis; con- 
sequently he had condemned them to death. We 
were then walking across the Plaza by moonlight, 
and, pointing to a corner, he said, That is the 
spot upon which I had the Godos despatched." 

Monteagudo was a man of superior talents: 
he had travelled in Europe, and been in England; 
he wrote and spoke French and English fluently. 
When San Martin was Protector of Peru, he be- 
came minister of war, in Lima, and was shortly 
after killed in the streets of that city, by a hired 
bravo, who stabbed him to the heart with a carv- 
ing knife. Monteagudo was a native of Salta. 

On the following morning, at four o'clock, I 



286 



GAUCHO SONGS. 



started from San Luis, for Rio Quinto, twelve 
leagues distant; from thence proceeded to the 
Moro, twelve; thence to Portozuelo, seven; thence 
to Achiras, five, where we slept. At this place, 
I saw a Gaucho dance ; the dancers were dressed 
in their holiday clothes, and displayed great agi- 
lity and natural grace, considering that they had 
never seen Noblet. They are a cheerfril people; 
the young women all play on the guitar, and ac- 
company it with songs, many of which are love 
ditties, but I cannot say much for their execution; 
I will however translate, verbatim, the words of 
one of the songs, which was set to a plaintive air : 
Come, my love, and let me gaze on those large 
dark eyes ; so beauteous, so beaming, and bright, 
that they only make a mock of me; yet I am 
slain by their rays." — I also heard the last lament 
of a dpng swain, who nevertheless expired to a 
more cheerful air, something like — 

" Oh, Sally Brown; oh, Sally Brown! 
" How could you use me so V 

Notwithstanding the melodies of these Pampa 



THE JOURNEY. 



287 



Syrens they did not find a Telemachus in me, for, 
on the following morning, I was on horseback at 
day-break, on the road to the Barranquita, five 
leagues distant — there the country ceases to be 
hilly; from Barranquita we proceeded to the Alo 
de Veulle, four leagues more, thence to Tambo; 
thence to Corral de Barrancas, three, and reached 
Santa Barbara that evening. The night was most 
disagreeable, but we managed to get a supper of 
chupe of fowl and eggs. i 

We arose before daybreak, and arrived at La 
Punta del Agua, a distance of five leagues, by 
sunrise. Six leagues further brought us to the Ca- 
nada de Lucas, where the roads are generally bad 
from the quantity of water, and they were parti- 
cularly so at that time, from the heavy rains. 
To Cabral the distance is six leagues, and to the 
Esquina de Medrano eight more — this last stage 
was extremely disagreeable, and, as the rain 
poured, we arrived dripping wet at the Esquina, 
close to the Herradura, where the Buenos Ayres 
troops and the Montoneros had recently had an 
action ; the latter were defeated by Colonel Bus- 



288 



THE JOURNEY. 



tos. The next morning we took post-horses, for 
which the landlord made us pay double, owing, 
he stated, to the hardness of the times, and jour- 
neyed onwards to the Tres Cruces, four leagues 
distant; thence we proceeded to Fraile Muerto, 
and thence to Sanjon. Here we found that, in 
consequence of the depredations committed by 
the Montoneros in this territory, the postmasters 
were almost without horses, and passengers were 
subject to great impositions, as the postmasters 
took advantage of this circumstance to let out 
their hired horses at their own price. An English- 
man whom I met here, on the road to Chile, as- 
sured me that they had obliged him to pay seventy- 
two dollars extra for a distance of a few leagues. 
I therefore agreed with two Gauchos, one the 
brother to the postmaster, to take me from Las 
Tres Cruces to Areco, a distance of forty-five 
leagues, for forty dollars, which was about ten more 
than the regular price. They accordingly pro- 
cured about thirty horses for my baggage, my 
servant, and myself, and we set off from Fraile 
Muerto about six o'clock in the afternoon. After 



FRAILE MUERTO. 



289 



journeying a few hours, we were forced to bivouac 
in the open field, our guides stating that it would 
be impossible to get any grass for the horses if we 
proceeded further. At this time of the year (June) 
the nights in the Pampas are bitterly cold. We 
did not unpack the luggage, and I slept in my 
poncho at the top of the almafres, and awoke in 
the morning almost frozen. 

Fraile Muerto is a village of considerable size, 
composed of a few huts and cabins huddled to- 
gether, without order or arrangement, and it had 
just been the theatre of war between the Buenos 
Ayres troops and the Monteneros of Santa Fe and 
Artigas. General Belgrano had sent forward 
Colonel Bustos with a battalion of six hundred 
men, to take possession of Fraile Muerto, which 
that officer accomplished; but the Montoneros 
and some troops of Artigas having formed a junc- 
tion, besieged the place for several weeks, with 
the intention of starving out the garrison. Co- 
lonel Bustos barricadoed all the streets with carts 
and waggons, fastened tagether, and maintained 
his troops constantly under cover; he was, how- 

u 



290 



GENERAL BELGRANO. 



ever, becoming short of provisions, when General 
Belgrano advanced to his relief, with his whole 
army. On the general's approach, the Montoneros 
attempted to carry Fraile Muerto by storm; they 
attacked it with about three thousand men, but 
were defeated with a loss of between three and 
four hundred men, whilst the loss of the Buenos 
Ayreans amounted to only twenty-three. Several 
houses had been perforated with cannon-balls, 
and the one I put up at had been an object of 
attack. 

We had scarcely rode two leagues, in the 
morning, when we fell in with General Belgrano's 
whole force, of about three thousand, advancing 
into the interior. The soldiers were in miserable 
plight, many barefoot and in rags, and as the 
morning air was rather nipping, they passed 
shivering along like living spectres. The general 
had not yet mounted his horse, but was at the 
post-house, and he invited me to partake of his 
breakfast. He was very affable, particularly 
after learning that I was an Englishman; for 
he had himself travelled in Europe and been in 



GENERAL BELGRANO. 



291 



England, and he requested me to make his 
remembrance to Mr. Hullett, of Sydenham 
Grove, which I take this first, though late oppor- 
tunity of doing. I recounted to him the news 
from Chile, and informed him that Lord Coch- 
rane had gone to Payta in quest of the Spanish 
squadron, and that, during his absence. Admiral 
Blanco had raised the blockade of Lima and re- 
turned to Valparaiso. This information appeared 
to surprise him, and he expressed himself at a 
loss to account for that admiral's conduct on this 
occasion; however, he said to me, in English, — 

What can you expect from us ; we must commit 
blunders, for we are the sons of Spaniards, and 
no better than they are." Colonel Bustos, who 
was also seated at the breakfast table with us, 
appeared to be an intelligent man. 

Belgrano was born in Buenos Ayres, and bore 
the reputation of being a very accomplished scho- 
lar, but he was not a successful general. He was 
at this time unable, through weakness, to mount 
his horse without assistance, and he did not seem 
capable of the exertion necessary for a Pampas 

u 2 



292 



GENERAL BELGRANO. 



war. His person was large and heavy, but he 
had a fine Italian countenance. 

The general informed me that the reason of 
his army being so distressed for clothing was the 
detention of the supplies from Buenos Apes, as 
the government was afraid lest they should fall 
into the hands of the enemy. A truce had been 
concluded between the contending parties, for 
eight days, until an answer to some proposals 
should arrive from Buenos Ayres, He asked me 
my route, and advised me to go by the Indian 
territory, but I told him of my arrangement with 
the Gauchos ; " Well/' said he, " they are a wild 
set, but perhaps my name may serve you," and 
wrote me a passport lest I should fall in with the 
Buenos Ayres Guerilla : he would not, however, 
send letters to Buenos Ayres for fear of their be- 
ing intercepted by the enemy. 

The Pampas, at this time, was in a state of 
great destitution, owing to the civil wars between 
Buenos Ayres and Sante Fe and the Banda Orien- 
tal: the couriers were cut off, the horses car- 
ried away, and every species of devastation com- 



MONTONERO. 



293 



mitted;, so that I was advised not to attempt the 
journey; but, having come so far, I resolved to 
run every risk, and get to Buenos Ayres if possi- 
ble. Accordingly, as soon as my servant and 
guides were ready, we once more proceeded on 
our route and arrived at the Saladillo; a river of 
considerable depth though not very broad ; whilst 
swimming across it, one of the guides was nearly 
swept off his horse by the rapidity of the current ; 
we, however, reached the post of Lovaton in safety, 
here we put up for the night, and, on the follow- 
ing morning, before daybreak, we again journeyed 
onwards. 

About two leagues from Cruz Alta, we per- 
ceived a group of above twenty-five horsemen gal- 
loping towards us, and on their nearer approach 
ascertained that they were armed Gauchos. On 
coming up, they instantly arrested and sum- 
moned us to give an account of ourselves to their 
Jefe," whose head quarters were about half a 
league from the high road ; thither we accordingly 
proceeded and found their chief on horseback. 
He was a Montonero, and his appearance was far 



294 MONTONERO. 

from prepossessing; I knew that several of my 
countrymen had been at times taken and detained 
in the interior for years, owing to some party 
broils of the Pampas ; consequently I did not feel 
very sm-e of regaining my liberty. This chief, 
who was a tall robust man with a savage counte- 
nance, and with long black hair hanging in great 
profusion about his shoulders, wore a Madi^as 
handkerchief on his head and a large slouched hat 
of Vicuna wool ; he also wore a poncho, but his 
pantaloons were of fine blue cloth, and he had 
a dress sword, both of which articles had lately 
been plundered from a convoy. He interrogated 
me in an austere sharp tone of voice, as to what 
I was, my business in the Pampas, whence I 
came, and whither I was proceeding; I replied 
that I was a Comer ciante Ingles," that I was 
travelling with my servant from Chile, that the 
posts being destitute of horses I had hired two 
guides to conduct me through the country, and 
that I was going to " Londres," and should be 
proud to be the bearer of any communication in 
that quarter. He appeared highly pleased with 



MONTONERO. 



295 



the compliment, and asked for my passport; I 
gave him one I had l-eceived in Chile, which he 
looked at with apparent attention, (holding it, 
however, upside down,) and seemed quite satis- 
fied: he folded it up, and returned it to me, say- 
ing, Corriente amigo, vaye v con Dios," upon 
which I touched my hat, and immediately rode off. 

Although I had maintained a perfect compo- 
sure in the presence of the brigand chief, yet I 
question whether I ever felt better pleased than 
when he and his banditti were two leagues in the 
rear of us, and, lest he should change his mind 
and my route at the same time, we quickened our 
pace and pushed on some extra leagues in ad- 
vance that evening. 

Next day we proceeded through a country still 
more inundated; the horses, in some places, were, 
for leagues, fetlock deep in water, and where the 
water had subsided the roads were very heavy, 
so that, whilst I was riding along, my horse 
slipped and fell on his side, throwing me with 
great violence, and, as I had my pistol-belt on, 
I fell upon one of my pistols, and received a se- 



266 



JOURNEY. 



vere contusion on my side. I was unable to re- 
mount my horse, and was carried to a neighbour- 
ing hut. There are no surgeons or medical men 
in the Pampas, and my servant. Morales, offici- 
ated as the leech ; the only remedy was rubbing 
my side with brandy; yet here, in a miserable 
hut, with a pouring rain coming through the 
roof, which made it necessary several times to re- 
move my bed in order to obtain a dry corner, 
did I receive that hospitality and kindness from a 
Gaucho family, which I could not fail to contrast 
with the far different treatment I once had ex- 
perienced when 1 fell ill in a civilized land. 

On the next day I was able to mount my 
horse, but rode in pain all the rest of the jour- 
ney. That evening we came to the point agreed 
upon with the guides, and I paid them, with 
something extra for the accidental detention. We 
then hired post-horses, in the regular way, and 
passed along to Ao. de Pavon ; Arroyo del Me- 
dio; Romallo; Puentezuelas ; Arrecife; Chacre 
de Ayala; Ao. de Lopes, &c; to the village of 
Luxan; and from thence to Puente de Marques. 



BUENOS AYRES. 



297 



We did not reach the latter place till it was 
sunset, and could therefore get no horses to go 
on to Buenos Ayres that night. 

At this post I met a young French officer who 
told me he had just come from Europe to enter the 
patriot service, and was going to join the army 
of Belgrano. We supped together upon a roasted 
armadillo, which has the flavour of a young suck- 
ing pig. 

The next day, Sunday, the 20th June, 1819, 
I arrived in Buenos Ayres, and put up at Los 
tres Reyes tavern. My servant. Morales, during 
our journey, had asked me occasional questions 
about the Old World, and now offered to accom- 
pany me to Londres," in the capacity of coach- 
man, but I told him that, previous to leaving 
England, I had laid down my carriage, and I did 
not intend to set it up on my return, though 
should I change my mind, I would send for him; 
this answer satisfied him and we parted. 

Having remained for two months in Buenos 
Ayres, in consequence of some business, and hav- 
ing during that interval received a letter from 



298 



MONTE VIDEO. 



England which induced me to visit the Brazils, 
my friend. Captain T. Gordon Falcon, of his Ma- 
jesty's ship Tyne, kindly offered me a passage to 
Rio Janeiro, and I embarked on board that ship 
on the third day of September, which was the se- 
cond anniversary of my first arrival in Buenos 
Ayres. 

The Tyne proceeded to Monte Video, where she 
was detained for a week by contrary winds, which 
gave me an opportunity of seeing this city. It is 
interesting on account of the gallant manner in 
which it was taken by our troops, in 1807, as well 
as for its own beauty. It stands upon a hill, 
which is crowned by the church, and is extremely 
well fortified. Indeed to those ignorant of mili- 
tary affairs, it must appear surprising how any 
men could have carried the assault on the point 
that it was effected by the British troops. The 
Portuguese had possession of Montevideo at the 
time I speak of, and General Lecor occupied it 
with about four thousand men; the Spanish fa- 
milies were much reduced on this account, and I 
was told the town was completely in a state of 



MONTE VIDEO. 



299 



decay; for very little commerce was carried on, 
in consequence of the unsettled state of affairs in 
the Banda Oriental. Artigas was then at war 
with the Portuguese, as well as with the Buenos 
Ayreans. 

I could not help lamenting that this beauti- 
fully built city had not been retained by Eng- 
land, when she had possession of it, as it would 
have proved so valuable as the key of the River 
Plate, and it was a matter of surprise that it 
was delivered up at the capitulation of Buenos 
Ayres; there is even a story current, that when 
the articles of that capitulation were framing, 
upon the surrender of Montevideo being inserted, 
some person observed, Do you think the English 
such fools as to give up Montevideo?" when ano- 
ther replied, We shall lose nothing by asking.'* 
The clause was accordingly inserted, and the con- 
dition subsequently acceded to. 

On the twentieth day after its departure from 
Buenos Ayres, the Tyne arrived at Rio, after 
a very favorable voyage, during which I re- 



300 



EMBARK AT RIO. 



ceived every attention from Captain Falcon 
and the officers on board. I shall not give a 
description of the metropolis of the Brazils, so 
many accounts having already appeared, but will 
only remark that any one who has leisure might 
find it worth while to take a sail across the At- 
lantic, merely to see its magnificent bay. 

In two days I had finished my business in Rio, 
and I therefore once more embarked for England 
on board a merchant brig, the Lascelles, the cabin 
of which was perfumed with tar and bilge water, 
and her cargo of cotton contributed to keep the ves- 
sel delightfully warm whilst between the tropics. 
Of this voyage I shall only say that I was half 
starved, for the fresh stock was consumed in ten 
days, and nothing remained but bad biscuit and 
rusty pork; some Port wine of my own and bis- 
cuit served me for provision for upwards of fifty 
days; at length, on the third of December, 1819, 
I arrived in the Downs alive, that same day 
landed at Deal, and at the Three Kings renewed 
my acquaintance with the " roast beef of Old 



ENGLAND. 



301 



England." After dinner I established myself in 
the royal mail for town, and early on the follow- 
ing morning was awakened from a sound nap, 
by the guard, when I found myself opposite his 
Majesty's Post Office, in Lombard Street. 



302 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Voyage to Buenos Ayres and round Cape Horn to 
Valparaiso^ Improvements in Chile. The Baths of 
Cauquenes, Passage in the Owen Glendower to 
England, 

After remaining in England about six months, 
I determined to proceed on another voyage to 
the New World, and chartered the brig En- 
terprize, which was loaded with goods consigned 
to myself, and I embarked on the 10th August, 
1820, at Gravesend for Chile. It would be need- 
less repetition to enumerate the delights of sail- 
ing a long voyage in a " short craft," as every 
one who has had that pleasure will not easily for- 
get it. An ignorant captain, and more vulgar 
mate, who sit down to dinner in their shirt sleeves ; 
peas soup and fat slices of pork, with biscuit 
that has twice had the benefit of the oven; the 
table talk of the officers," which is generally 



SEA VOYAGE. 



303 



upon such interesting subjects as the tremenduous 
weather they once had when close on a lee-shore 
off the coast of Portingale, or the risk they had 
run upon a dark night, when it was blowing a 
hurricane, of being lost in the gulph stream," by 
getting on Diana's Reef, in the West Ingies;" no 
awning in the Tropics, the ship's husband" not 
having allowed her any extra " muslin;" greasy 
decks, which you walk upon at the hazard of 
your limbs ; or, if you seat yourself on the com- 
panion, having your legs attacked by the peck- 
ings of half-starved fowls ; a hot cabin, and your 
bed unmade, owing to the steward having " got 
the helm;" — these are some of the agremens to 
be met with on the " dark blue sea*;" however, 
as it is absolutely necessary to cross the ocean in 
a ship, let my readers conclude all these things 

* As the aforesaid sea phrases may not be compre- 
hended by some of my readers, I shall explain, in 
plain English, that these merchant brigs are sometimes 
badly provided with the proper sails and stores, are 
very dirty, both above and below deck, and, in short, 
every thing is most ingeniously uncomfortable. 



304 



JUDGE PRE YOST. 



to have been endured with the most unshaken 
philosophy, and then suppose me again at anchor 
in the outer roads off Buenos Ayres. 

Shortly after my arrival, I received a note from 
my friend Judge Prevost, the minister fr'om the 
United States, wishing for a passage round Cape 
Horn, in the brig, and stating that he was then 
in the inner roadstead, on board of an American 
vessel, where he had only a few days before been 
banished from Buenos Ayres. I was happy to 
receive this gentleman on board, and immediately 
sent a boat for him. It appeared that he was 
banished from the capital of La Plata, owing to 
a facetious custom he had, during the time of the 
intestine di^asions which had prevailed in that 
city for some months previously, of every morn- 
ing opening his window and inquiring of the first 
passenger — Quen manda hoy?" Who governs 
to-day ? A question by no means superfluous in 
a place w^here a governor usually remained in of- 
fice for a few days only. However, one of these 
gentlemen, more sensitive than the rest, ha^dng 
heard of the judge's peculiarity, sent for him, and 



JUDGE PREVOST. 



305 



told him he must quit the territory in four hours ; 
and, as he could not proceed to Chile by land, 
for fear of falling in with Jose Miguel Carrera 
and his band of Montoneros, he sought an asylum 
on board a vessel belonging to his own country. 
I would not allow the captain to land with his pa- 
pers at Buenos Ayres, lest I should have to pay 
transit duty on the cargo, therefore, after going 
ashore to reconnoitre, and finding the place still 
much agitated by parties, I re-embarked the fol- 
lowing day and directed the vessel to Valpa- 
raiso. 

A few weeks previous to my arrival, there had 
been a battle in the streets of Buenos Ayres, be- 
tween the Color ados and the townsmen, which 
had terminated in the death of about three hun- 
dred, in the Plaza and streets adjoining. 

On the evening of my embarkation we got un- 
der weigh, and proceeded down the river to put 
to sea by the South Channel; at night we came 
to anchor off Point Indio, and here, while there 
was only a river-watch kept, four of our best 
hands thought proper to abscond with the cap- 



306 



CAPE HORN. 



tain's private gig," and to go on shore without 
leave. The same night, a heavy pampero blew so 
hard that it became necessary to run out to sea; 
accordingly all hands, including the judge and 
myself, having assisted to heave away the anchor, 
we were soon blown out of the river, and the fol- 
lowing day, at noon, were fifty miles from its 
mouth. 

As we were now so short handed, it was neces- 
sary to take the sense of the remainder of the 
crew, whether they they were willing to navi- 
gate the vessel round Cape Horn : accordingly we 
assembled them all aft, and as I wished to get 
round to Chile, instead of returning to Monte- 
video for extra hands, upon my promising the 
crew a gratuity, in addition to their wages, they 
agreed unanimously to assist, and round the Horn 
we proceeded. We were only ten in number al- 
together, viz. the judge and his servant, the cap- 
tain, two mates, a surgeon (passenger from Eng- 
land,) one man before the mast, a cook, a boy 
and myself; yet with this small crew did we per- 
form what is called the most dangerous voyage 



CAPE HORN. 



307 



in the world, the mates volunteering to go aloft 
and assist in reefing. 

We steered between the Falkland Islands and 
the main land, and, the weather proving fine and 
fair, on the 14th day got off what is termed the 
stormy promontory of Cape Horn, steering near 
to the island of Deigo Ramirez, and expected, 
on the day following, to make our westing," 
that is, to get safely into the Pacific Ocean, when 
a storm arose from the north-west, which drove 
us to leeward about three hundred miles, and it 
was twenty-two days before we again came in 
sight of Diego Ramirez. During that period of 
three weeks, with little intermission, the weather 
had been boisterous, and one of the mates, the 
steward, and a boy, fell ill in consequence of the 
inclemency of the weather and hard duty. I was 
obliged both to pull the ropes and take the helm, 
for the rest were almost worn out, and indeed 
Judge Prevost assisted in trimming the vessel for 
the general safety. 

Our cook was a man of gigantic stature and 
strength, and, being an excellent sailor, could go 

X 2 



308 



SAN MARTIN. 



aloft, reef and handle the sails, and proved of 
great service. At length we got into the calm 
Pacific, and, on the 23d December, 1820, the 
one hundred and thirty-fifth day of this voyage, 
we steered into the bay of Valparaiso. 

On our arrival in Chile, we found the public 
mind in great anxiety about the expedition which 
had sailed the preceding June to make a descent 
upon Peru. It consisted of five thousand men, 
commanded by General San Martin, and was 
then encamped about four leagues from Lima. 
This expedition had not been fifted out without 
considerable effort, on account of the dearth of 
money in the treasury, and it was finally accom- 
plished through the aid of foreign merchants, 
who afforded " the needful," by a handsome loan 
to the Chile government. Lord Cochrane was 
at this period blockading Lima. 

Valparaiso had improved considerably since 
my first visit to that port; there were several 
English and North American commercial esta- 
blishments already formed. Judge Prevost and 
myself, on the day after our arrival, proceeded 
up to the capital. 



CASA BLANCA. 



309 



At Casa Blanca, an Englishman, who had been 
a steward to a vessel, had taken a house as an 
inn, and upon a board was painted, in English, the 
following words — Acomoda^ion — Good beds for 
a gentleman and his horse." This curious sign 
dangled from the top of a high pole, on the road 
side; we put up at the house, and found it well 
stored with provisions and liquors. Every thing 
was in a progressive state of improvement on the 
road towards the capital: the huts were cleaner 
and better furnished, and it was even possible to 
get tea or coffee at almost every posthouse. On 
Christmas Day we dined at Pudaguel, upon some 
dried goat's flesh, and in the evening arrived safe 
at Santiago. 

As I do not profess, in this work, to give a 
geographical account of Chile, I must refer my 
readers to a map of the country for its bearings 
and boundaries. It however appears divided, by 
nature, into three sections, the north of which is 
barren, but abounds in copper and silver; the 
centre is composed of rich valleys, and corn is 
raised in abundance, but there is little wood; 



310 



CHILE. 



the province of Conception, in the South, is 
also very fertile, and abounds in good timber 
of considerable size. 

The principal rivers are the Biobio, Ytata, 
Cachapoal, the Maule, and the Ma}^o ; but 
there are a number of smaller streams which 
make their way from the Cordilleras into the 
sea; none of which are navigable. The country is 
thinly populated; the total number of inhabitants, 
at the present day, is not one million and a half. 

On the third day after my arrival in Sajitiago, 
I sold the whole of my cargo, at a handsome ad- 
vance on the invoice price, but, as the amount 
was very considerable, it was necessary to give 
long credit. % 

During my former residence in the country, I 
never had time to proceed on any tour of observa- 
tion, either north or south, but being now some- 
what at leisure, I took a trip forty leagues to the 
south, for the benefit of my health, with a party, 
and visited the famed mineral baths at Cau- 
quenes, which are reckoned to possess very salu- 
brious properties. 



ANTONIO BALE^NZUELA. 



311 



The servants were sent forward to prepare our 
quarters, and on the road we were forcibly 
struck with the beauty of the haciendas, to which 
we were frequently invited by the ^^patrones/' so 
that, during the whole journey, we had nothing 
to pay. Those who have visited these baths will 
recollect the liberality of Don Antonio Balen- 
zuela, whose large house and handsome estate 
are situated near the town of Rancagua, and 
whose doors are always open to the traveller : 
this gentleman entertained us with a very sump- 
tuous dinner, consisting of a profusion of every 
thing the country afforded, and various sorts of 
wine. 

The South of Chile abounds more in trees 
and the scenery is richer than nearer the capital ; 
that delightfully romantic ride from Don An- 
tonio's mansion to the baths, a distance of four 
leagues, is probably fresh in the remembrance of 
some of my readers. It is a narrow ravine, with 
a mountain torrent rushing through it ; on the 
sides of the springing waters are high rocks, and 



312 



CAUQUENES. 



a bridge made of cables of hides is suspended 
across the stream; the back ground is a view of 
the Andes. 

The hot baths of Cauquenes are one hundred 
feet above the river; the sides of the eminence 
are almost perpendicular, and on the top is a 
square formed of huts. These baths are the re- 
sort of invalids from all parts of Chile, and are 
particularly recommended for rheumatism and 
chronic affections. The hottest waters stand at 
110 degrees of Farenheit. When the patient 
comes out of the bath, he is wrapped up in blan- 
kets, and carried on a bier to his bed, for the 
purpose of promoting perspiration. A course of 
bathing lasts a month; but it is worth the jour- 
ney to go to Cauqenes for the scenery alone. 

During my stay in Chile, at this period, the 
important news of the capture of Lima, by the 
patriot army, was received. The rejoicings upon 
this occasion were very great, and the event was 
celebrated by banquettings and illuminations. — 
The English, at this time, had a considerable 
squadron in Valparaiso, under the command of 



BRITISH OFFICERS. 313 

Sir Thomas Hardy; and that officer, as well as 
the Hon. R. C. Spencer, the Hon. Orlando Bridge- 
man, and Captain D. O'Brien, were then in San- 
tiago. It was certainly very fortunate that the 
officers of the navy, who had been sent out by 
our government to this hitherto unacknowledged 
country, were men extremely well adapted to fur- 
ther the British interests, by the ability they dis- 
played in treating with the Chile government. 
On many occasions both firmness and conciliation 
were requisite, to prevent improper exactions be- 
ing levied upon the property of the English mer- 
chants; and the above-named officers not only 
acquitted themselves to the satisfaction of their 
own countrymen, but, by their gentlemanly man- 
ners in private life, tended to promote a favor- 
able impression of " Los Ingleses " amongst the 
Chilenos : their names, as well as those of Bowles, 
ShirrefF, Falcon, Hall, &c. live still in the memory 
of the inhabitants of the metropolis of Chile. 

Having finished my affairs to my satisfaction, 
I resolved to return to England. The Honorable 
Robert Spencer, of His Majesty's ship Owen 

Y 



314 



OWEN GLENDOWER. 



Glendower, was then at Valparaiso, and he most 
obligingly offered me a passage on board his fri- 
gate. There were also on board a number of 
Spaniards from Lima, for whom Captain Spencer, 
with great humanity, curtailed his own comforts, 
to allow them room in his cabin, in order that 
they might be enabled to return to their native 
country. Amongst these passengers, amounting 
to seventeen, were General Ricaforte, the colo- 
nel of the Burgos regiment; Don Antonio, a 
Lima judge; the Marchioness of Caseres, and 
several Spanish ladies. 

The Owen Glendower sailed from Valparaiso 
on the 10th October, 1821, and, after a very 
pleasant voyage round the Horn, on the thirty- 
fifth day we put into the harbour of Rio Janeiro, 
where the Spanish passengers went on shore, to 
embark direct for Cadiz. In six days the Owen 
Glendower put to sea again, and, after a most 
agreeable voyage, on the one hundred and fourth 
day from our departure from Valparaiso, she 
cast anchor at Spithead, saluted the flag-ship 
and had the compliment returned, after which I 



CONCLUSION. 



315 



proceeded towards the shore in one of the fri- 
gate's boats, and landed at Portsmouth. 

I should do injustice to my feelings to let pass 
this opportunity of expressing my sense of the 
very handsome manner in which I was treated 
whilst on board the Owen Glendower, by the 
Honorable Sir Robert Spencer and every officer 
on board the ship, amongst whom I may be per- 
mitted to name Lord E. Russell, Hon. G. D. Ry- 
der, Hon. W. Anson, Hon. F. F. De Roos, and 
Messrs. G. Evans and J. Richards. 

Previous to closing my final chapter, I must 
offer a few remarks upon the opinion of some 
people who, having constantly the divine right" 
before their eyes, entertain a notion that, owing 
to the civil dissensions in the new republics of 
South America, if Spain were once enabled to 
send troops into that country, she would recon- 
quer her former colonies : this is an erroneous 
opinion. There is little doubt that, had the Spa- 
nish government, in the early part of the revolu- 
tion, manifested a conciliatory disposition to the 
Creoles, Spain would have retained its power 



316 



CONCLUSION. 



over the colonies, but when the people merely 
asked for their rights,^ it commenced a furious 
persecution upon the unfortunate colonists, and 
gave up the whole country to martial law; and 
the extreme cruelties which the Spanish chiefs 
inflicted upon the inhabitants tended to sunder 
the only remaining ties which Spain possessed 
over the moral feelings of the Americans. The 
names of Morillo, Morales, Tristan, Marco, 
Osorio, &c. are written in characters of' blood 
throughout these regions, and their deeds have 
torn for ever, from the mother country, these valu- 
ble colonies. The spirit of independence, ^^Lord of 
the lion heart and eagle eye," is now too deeply 
rooted in those republics ever to admit of a chance 
of the people degenerating into their ancient bond- 
age, and though the early pages of their history 
may be disfigured by accounts of civil broils, all 
parties are firmly united in the resolution of never 
submitting to any foreign yoke. 

THE END. 

; ——— —————— ————— ————— — 

. ■ Davidson, Printer, 

Serle's Place, Carey Street, London. 



